The Games People Play
by denise1
Summary: A series that started as a one shot and ended up being four stories centered around a goa'uld trapped on Earth. If the last story looks familiar, it is the same one as in the Eric series. I'd post a link but I can't.
1. The Games People Play

The Games People Play by Denise

"I can not believe he was so completely careless and inept," a deep, cultured, voice snarled.  
"It was your man who recruited him. If there is any blame, it falls on your shoulders," the general insisted.  
"Regardless, I will not take the fall for YOUR mistakes. You can rest assured, I will not lie for you or Maybourne," declared Senator Kinsey as he hung up the phone.  
"He has become a liability," a third man stated.  
"I agree. However, we must be cautious. If we eliminate him too obviously it will just confirm people's suspicions. And we are under far too much scrutiny already"  
"Yes general. You are correct. But I think I may have a plan which will tie up many loose ends. In fact, if it is done correctly, it may seriously discredit the SGC itself. Maybe even lead to it being shut down or restructured at the very least," the man suggested slyly. 'And put O'Neill exactly where I want him,' he thought.  
"Bert, you've been trying to muck up the SGC since its inception. What makes you think you can finally get it right?" the general said, derision and contempt clear in his voice.  
"Because this time I will use them to discredit themselves, a plan elegant in its simplicity," Lt. Colonel Bert Samuels declared, his oily voice full of arrogance.  
"Very well. Play your games," the general replied negligently. "However, I will NOT tolerate public humiliation again. And I will have no knowledge of this. For once you will succeed or fail on you own," the older man said as he got up and left the elegant Washington DC den.  
"Oh I'm never on my own," Bert said quietly, as he took another sip of his brandy and stared into the fire.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Damn it!" Major Samantha Carter heard the expletive ring through the cool quiet of the SGC parking facility as she unlocked her car door. Recognizing the voice and guessing its cause, she opened the door, tossed the small stack of work she was taking home into the back seat and went in search of her CO. She found Colonel Jack O'Neill just as he was popping the hood on his jeep and beginning to peer inside, his eyes obviously struggling to focus in the dim light of the parking area. She saw him wiggle a few wires then get back behind the wheel and try the ignition again. All she heard was a dull grinding noise and another string of extremely creative curses. "Sounds like your starter's fried sir," she said as she walked up to his car, shoving her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.  
"Huh?" he asked absentmindedly as he got out of the vehicle, forcing Sam to take a few steps back to allow him to continue his trek back to the engine compartment.  
"The starter...it's finished colonel," she said.  
"For crying out loud Carter, you an auto mechanic too?" Jack asked jokingly, having already reached the same conclusion.  
Sam shook her head, smiling. "No. But my car did exactly the same thing a few months ago"  
"Well this is great. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was hang around waiting for a tow truck," Jack complained as he slammed the hood shut with a disgusted look.  
"I seriously doubt you're going to get a tow truck tonight"  
"Why not, it's only 1900"  
"Colonel, it's 1900 on a Sunday night. Easter Sunday to be exact. It'll probably take you until tomorrow to get one all the way out here," she said referring to the Cheyenne Mountain complex. Not only were they nearly 30 miles from the nearest city, Colorado Springs, they were also in the middle of nowhere. OK, civilian nowhere. There were plenty of military personnel around, but that actually made things more difficult. Cheyenne Mountain and the SGC were top secret facilities. That meant even when... if, a tow truck came it would be another half hour for them to clear the various checkpoints.  
Jack did a quick bit of math and realized he'd be lucky to get home by dawn.  
"Ah hell," he groaned wearily, slumping against the side of his jeep. "Maybe I'll just go back downstairs and crash in my quarters." Sam knew exactly how he felt. Their quarters with the military issue bunks were certainly preferable to sleeping on the ground or during those times when you were just too damned tired to care where you slept. But there were times when a body simply craved a mattress that was a good eight inches thick covered with soft cotton sheets, feather pillows and maybe a down comforter rather than a three inch thick mattress with coarse standard issue sheets, a scratchy olive drab wool blanket and pillows so scrawny it took at least three to get a good nights rest.  
"Look colonel, it's been a long day. Why don't I give you a ride home? You can make arrangements about your car in the morning and I could give you a lift back," she offered.  
"Ya sure? I could just hang here, get some paperwork done"  
"Four days in a rainy forest and you really want to hang around here?" she asked rhetorically remembering his lengthy diatribe during their cold, wet hike back to the gate and home.  
Sam normally had no problem roughing it. In fact, if they would just invent a portable hot water bath and softer ground she'd probably enjoy it a bit more. But their last mission had strained even Teal'c's endurance.  
They'd only been a few hours away from the gate on P2Y931 when a storm rivaling a hurricane in its intensity struck. One minute they'd been walking through one of the ubiquitous pine forests the galaxy seemed so fond of, enjoying a balmy, if humid, spring-like day. The next, the wind picked up, the temperature plunged about 30 degrees and a cold rain, almost a sleet, began to fall. Despite the threat of lightening, Jack suggested they pitch the tents and wait it out. They did so and spent the next 24 hours huddled in their tiny shelters, fighting boredom as they got progressively colder and wetter. A fire was impossible and cooking sterno only gave off so much heat.  
As the hours went by the storm seemed only to intensify. And, true to SG-1's luck, in the wee hours of the second night it got worse. About 0245, what Sam could only think of as a tornado struck nearby. The intense winds blew down limbs and even entire trees around them. Luckily everyone managed to get by with only a few cuts and scrapes for once. Their gear wasn't so fortunate. The tents and most of their supplies were scattered to the winds and Colonel O'Neill decided to cut their losses, abandon their mission and go home before Noah put in an appearance. It took them 18 hours of nearly continuous hiking, actually it was more like slogging, through the mud and constant heavy rain, to reach the gate.  
After the first hour they were all soaked to the skin. As they got within sight of the gate they were actually wading through a foot or so of near freezing, standing water. Everything was so wet, even after sending the GDO signal, Jack still radioed ahead, just to make sure the batteries in the little device hadn't gotten too soggy to work. As it turns out it was a good thing he did. The signal had been received but was incomplete.  
Siler and his team were going to be spending the next few days retrofitting all the GDOs to make them waterproof to 30 meters.  
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c commandeered the showers for nearly half an hour as Sam was getting her post-mission physical. She, however, was almost late for the debriefing after soaking in the hot tub so long her fingers were pruned when she got out. At least she had been starting to feel warm again.  
"Colonel, you can't expect me to believe you'd rather hang around here instead of going home to a nice warm bed?" Sam asked knowing full well what his answer would be. "You're sure you don't mind?" he asked as he reached into the passenger seat and retrieved his bag. "If I minded I wouldn't have offered," she replied as she led him back to her car. She got in and started the ignition, quickly turning down the blaring radio as Jack tossed his bag into the back seat and got in himself. Sam buckled her seat belt, put the car into gear and started her way down the mountain. As soon as she merged into traffic on the interstate highway fat raindrops began to splash on the windshield. "Great, more rain," Jack groused as Sam turned on the wipers. "34,000 light years away...could be the same storm," Sam suggested with a smile.  
"God I hope not. One tornado a week is enough"  
"Yeah, it was a little... extreme"  
"Extreme? For crying out loud Carter, I was expecting a cow to come flying by any second"  
"What? No witch on a broomstick?" she asked as she switched lanes to pass a slow moving truck. "Maybourne on a Hoover. Now that would have made the mission from hell JUST perfect," Jack quipped. Sam shot him a quick look then began to laugh. "That's a mental image that's gonna haunt me for a while." Jack joined in her laughter for a moment, then an awkward silence fell over the car. Just as Sam was ready to turn up the radio to fill the void, Jack spoke up. "Ya know, the thought of that weasel in prison stripes was all that made those weeks bearable"  
"Really?" Sam replied in a tone that told him she didn't like the topic. Jack took the hint and they fell silent again. In fact she'd avoided every discussion he had tried to have about his incursion into Maybourne's private little SGC. Then again, so had Daniel and Teal'c. As she took the exit off the interstate to Jack's house Sam spoke up. "What do you think will happen to them?" she asked, almost hesitantly.  
"Them?" Jack asked, knowing what she was referring but delaying his answer. "The renegades, Colonels Maybourne and Makepeace," she clarified.  
Jack sighed, "I honestly don't know. Seriously doubt I'll ever get called to testify though"  
"So what?...They just...disappear?" she asked incredulously.  
"Carter...Sam, trust me. There are some questions you don't want to answer. And there IS such a thing as knowing too much. Just...don't worry about it," Jack urged.  
"OK," Sam answered, "So aah...what are you going to get Cassandra for her birthday?" she asked, changing to a safer subject. Jack accepted the change gratefully. "I have no idea. What do you get for a 15 year old girl?" he asked, his tone clear he was facing the common dilemma of what to get for someone who was both childish and adult, yet neither. "I don't know. A cartridge for her system?" Sam suggested.  
"Nah. You seen some of those games? Real combat is less bloody"  
"OK...a CD"  
Jack shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned there's been nothing worth listening to since 1975"  
"Clothes, maybe a sweater"  
"Carter, I couldn't even buy Sara anything she'd wear. I'm not going to try to find something a teenager would like," Jack dismissed.  
"OK. I'll agree with you there. I wouldn't be caught dead in some of the get-ups I've seen. How about jewelry?" she suggested.  
"Jewelry?" he asked, his tone suggesting visions of gold, diamonds and big price tags were running through his head. "Nothing fancy," she reassured him. "Janet's going to let her get her ears pierced for her birthday. Look in the glove box. My gift's in there," she directed him.  
"Your glove box?" he asked as he opened the small compartment and drew out a small yellow bag. "Must get pretty crowded around Christmas time." He pulled out one of two small boxes and opened it. "I picked it up on my way to work last week," she explained, "I haven't been home since"  
"Isn't this a little...grown-up?" he asked, holding up a pair of silver hoops about the size of a half dollar with a dolphin at the bottom of the hoop perched to look like the animal was jumping through.  
Sam glanced at his hand and chuckled. "I should hope so. Those are mine. Hers are in the other box"  
"Oh. I'm surprised. You don't wear jewelry," he said as he put the earrings back in their box and returned it to its sack. "Well not at work," she responded as he took out the second box and opened it. "But these," she continued as she pulled her dog tags over her head and dropped them into the empty cup holder in the console, "Just aren't the height of fashion. It's nice to have other stuff. Anyway, I like dolphins," she finished with a small shrug, turning off her wipers now that the spring shower was over. "Hey, these are nice," he said, holding up a pair of amber earrings, each smaller than a dime. "Thanks. I think she'll like them. They have a pendant that matches. Maybe you could get her that?" Sam suggested as she pulled into Jack's driveway. "Sounds like a good idea," he said as he unbuckled his seat belt and reached back to get his bag. He pulled it to the front seat, causing a manila envelope to fall out of an outside pocket. "Oh crap," he exclaimed as he realized what the envelope was.  
"What"  
"Oh I was supposed to get this to Sara two days ago. She's meeting with the accountant first thing in the morning and she needs this"  
"Look, unless she's moved, her place is right on my way home," Sam offered as she picked up the jewelry sack and stuffed it into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. She needed to take them inside and wrap her gift. "No. I don't want to put you out. I'll just call her and have her come over and get it"  
"It's no problem. I'm so keyed up I thought I'd go drive through Garden of the Gods and unwind a bit anyway. I think I'm still on un-daylight savings time or maybe it's gate-lag," she said with a wry grin.  
"You're sure"  
"If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have offered," she repeated. "Anyway, her house is literally right on my way home." Jack handed her the envelope. "Sweet. Thanks. I owe ya one," Jack said as he opened the car door. "How about I'll buy you breakfast in the morning," he offered as he got out of the car, slinging his bag over his shoulder.  
"A real breakfast...not fast-food or donuts"  
"Real food, silverware and all. 0900?" he suggested, remembering they weren't due back at the base until 1100.  
"Deal. See you in the morning"  
"See ya," Jack said as he slammed the door shut and stepped back. He heard the soft click of Sam hitting the power locks then watched her pull out and drive off. He dug his keys out of his coat pocket and walked up to the front door. One cold beer and hot bath coming right up he promised himself as he entered his house and locked the door behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

'A smoked turkey sandwich,' Sam thought. That's what she'd grab on the way home for dinner. The 24 hour deli on 23rd street made a killer sandwich. And there was that half gallon of espresso and cream ice cream in the freezer. It should still be good. She pulled her car to the curb in front of Sara's house and picked the envelope out of the passenger seat where Jack had left it. She slipped her keys into her pocket, more out of habit than any fear of having her car stolen and walked up the sidewalk to the blue house. She pushed the doorbell and waited anxiously for someone to answer. Now that the sun was setting, it was getting decidedly chilly, and her jeans, red henley and tennis shoes were no match for the drop in temperature, even with the heavy leather jacket. As she mentally added another hot bath, this time with bubbles, to her 'to do' list for the evening, she saw a car pull into the drive and park. A slender blond woman got out, dressed much like Sam with jeans, tennis shoes and a soft looking denim shirt, a quizzical look on her face as she registered a stranger on her porch.  
"Can I help you?" Sara asked, as she pulled a bag of groceries into her arms and struggled to balance it with her purse.  
"Hi. You may not remember me. I'm Major Sam Carter, I work with Colonel O'Neill," Sam said as she stepped to the edge of the porch. Sara frowned as she walked closer. "I think we only met once...about two years ago...at the hospital," Sam prodded, beginning to think she should have just dropped the envelope into the mail box and left. "Oh," Sara exclaimed as memory returned, "Right. I didn't recognize you out of fatigues," she said as she climbed the steps, trying to keep the grocery bag upright while digging for her keys. "Here, let me help," Sam offered as she held out her arms to hold the bag.  
"Thanks," Sara accepted as she gave Sam the paper bag and retrieved her key ring. "So...and don't take this the wrong way, but what brings you over here. Nothing's wrong with Jack is it?" she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice. "Oh no. He's fine," Sam reassured the woman. "He just had some car trouble. I had to give him a ride home, then offered to drop this off. He said you needed it in the morning," Sam said, indicating the envelope in her right hand. Sara opened the front door and looked at the envelope.  
"Well, it's about time. He promised to have that to me Friday," Sara said as she reached for the bag. "It was nice of you to do his running for him. Please come in," Sara offered as she walked into the entry way. "I just live a few blocks away, so it was right on my way home," Sam explained as she walked around the living room. "Do you have a couple minutes?" Sara asked. "I have a few questions"  
"Aah, yeah. I guess I do," Sam answered uncertainly. What on Earth could her CO's ex-wife want to know from her?  
"Please, make yourself at home," Sara called from the kitchen. "I just need to put the ice cream in the freezer. Would you like something to drink?" she offered.  
"Sure. Whatever you've got," Sam said as she sat on the couch. Sara walked out, carrying two glasses of iced tea.  
"Plain OK? Or do you take sugar"  
Sam shook her head. "Plain is fine"  
Sara sat down in an armchair. "Look, major"  
"Please Sam"  
Sara smiled. "OK, Sam. I was wondering what has been going on with Jack. He drops off the face of the earth for weeks on end. Then when he does come back, he just hangs around his place. An old friend of mine told me he'd retired again, but when I tried to talk to Jack about it, he almost threw me out. And he obviously hasn't retired. I know most of what you guys do is classified, and I'm not asking you to violate that... but can you give me an idea what's wrong with him?" Sara requested urgently. Sam looked uncomfortable. Noticing her hesitation, Sara reassured her. "I don't need details. I'm used to that. I just need to know he's OK," she pleaded.  
Sam sighed as she struggled to put the events of the last few months into a version that wouldn't violate national security. "Well, umm...about four months ago we were on a mission and...he got left behind...marooned"  
Sara blanched, "Not like Iraq," Sara asked, horrified. Please God, not that again. She didn't think Jack could survive another experience like his time in the Iraqi prison. "No...no. He wasn't in any real danger. He wasn't captured or anything. Just...stuck." (Right...stuck, trapped hundreds of light-years away on another planet with the gate and the DHD buried under feet of solid Naquadah)  
"And"  
"And it took us almost three months to get him home," Sam said. (Course we had to re-invent technology we'd only heard of from an alien race...no big deal)  
"Why so long"  
"There were a lot of...complications," (Though if I ever have to build a particle accelerator again, it might just take me a week or so.) she said. "Then when he got back...he had to do something he really didn't want to"  
"What something?" Sara insisted.  
Sam sighed. "You know he did a lot of...secret things before?" (Parachuting into foreign countries, blowing stuff up...and probably tons more they'd never know about)  
Sara nodded sadly. "Yeah, he'd disappear for months on end and never could tell me where he'd been. I thought he stopped that"  
"He has...he just had to do this one thing. It had some...unexpected fall out. He found out a couple friends...weren't really friends. It was tough."(OK, so half of it was tough. I think the colonel enjoyed ruining Maybourne's little game...he just hated the Makepeace part. It's hard to send a drinking buddy, a guy who's saved your life a time or two to prison...or wherever they are now)  
"And now"  
San shrugged, "Now things are back to normal," she said, fighting back a grin at the thought of what passed for normal at the SGC. Alien invasions, camping on different planets, intergalactic politics...yep all in a day's work.  
Sara sighed. "That's good," she said as Sam stood up, planning to make her escape. The last thing she'd expected was to get the third degree from her boss' ex-wife. "I'm sorry I sorta kidnapped you. I just couldn't think of anyone else to ask that could give me at least a version close to the truth. And getting the truth out of Jack is like getting blood out of a turnip"  
"That's OK," Sam said. "I understand. It can be frustrating to be kept in the dark." (That's an understatement. I understand the need for secrecy, and that, if Makepeace had suspected I knew more than I knew I could have been in danger...but did he REALLY have to lie to us)  
Sara shrugged into her jacket. "I'll walk you out. I need to drop this mail off at my neighbors. It got delivered here by mistake," Sara said as she held the door open. Neither woman noticed the dark shapes crouched behind the bushes flanking the sidewalk. Sam heard Sara cry out and saw the woman fall to the ground. Sam rushed forward to help her but stopped short as she felt a tiny, sharp sting in her thigh. She looked down to see a red-tufted dart sticking out of her jeans clad leg. She pulled it out and stared in amazement at the tiny missile before collapsing in a motionless heap.  
"Damn it! You idiot. You weren't supposed to tranq both of them," a voice declared angrily.  
"Do you know which is our target? All I was told was a blond woman living at this address. It could be either of them," the second man answered logically.  
"If you had just waited, we could have found out for sure"  
"If I had waited, both could have gotten away"  
"Now what do we do"  
The first man shrugged. "We take them both. As soon as we find out which is our target, we kill the other. She's expendable," he said carelessly as he slung Sam over his shoulder. The second man silently agreed with his partner. Their boss would surely prefer two hostages to the wrong one. He picked up Sara and laid her limp form beside Sam's in the back of the waiting van. He picked up a package, roughly the size of a large florist's box, the type roses might come in and carefully carried it into Sara's house, laying it on the coffee table. He quietly pulled the front door shut and jumped into the already running van. The vehicle sped discretely away leaving no sign in the quiet residential neighborhood that a crime had just taken place.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack folded the paper closed and checked his watch one more time. 0915. Sam was late. She wasn't ever late. At least not without calling to explain. He picked up the cordless phone on the arm of his deck chair and dialed her number. Her machine picked up. She must be on her way. He hung up without leaving a message. 'Should have time to finish the sports section,' he thought as he propped his feet up on the deck railing and reopened the paper. He wasn't going to let her live this one down any time soon.  
Twenty minutes later as he found himself reading the classifieds, he was teetering between genuine concern and total irritation. Jack tossed the paper aside and rang Sam's number one more time. Still getting her machine he hung up and rang Daniel. Quickly explaining his concerns he convinced his friend to come over and help him track Sam down.  
As Jack once again waited for a ride he found himself sincerely wishing both his teammates would arrive and spend the rest of the day ragging him about being too paranoid. As if there was such a thing.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daniel and Jack climbed the stairs to Sam's third floor apartment. Daniel reached out and rang her doorbell. Jack frowned at his friend. "Daniel, I doubt she's in there. I didn't see her car," he said.  
Daniel shrugged. "True. But if she does happen to be here and we just barge in on her, she'll kill us. She does have a gun," he reminded Jack.  
"Good point," Jack agreed as he pounded on the door. The two men waited another impatient minute, then Jack pulled the spare key out of his pocket and slowly opened the door. He walked cautiously in, then relaxed as the opening door pushed a small pile of mail around on the floor. "Well, this is both good and bad," he said as he bent over to gather the scattered mail.  
"Why"  
"She obviously hasn't been here for a couple days. Neither has anyone else"  
"Jack, if she hasn't been here...where is she?" Daniel asked.  
"I have absolutely no idea," Jack said quietly. "The last time I saw her was when she dropped me off last night..." Jack let his voice trail off. He snapped his fingers and fairly dashed across the room to snatch Sam's phone off its cradle.  
"What?" Daniel asked, confused by his friend's erratic behavior.  
"She dropped something off at Sara's for me," Jack replied off-handedly as he impatiently tapped his foot waiting for someone to pick up Sara's phone. "No answer," he replied as he tossed the phone back in its cradle. "Come on Daniel, let's check out Sara's place." Daniel followed Jack outside, pulling Sam's door shut behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly surfaced from oblivion. Why did her bed smell so...dirty. No. She couldn't be at home...it was far too hard. She was laying on her stomach on the ground. What happened to her sleeping bag? Forget that...where was her tent? No matter how temperate the climate, she always at least used her sleeping bag. Maybe the guys could just drop on the ground and sleep, but she needed the comfort, the security of something between her and the dark. Especially since Simarka, she refused to sleep out of sight of the rest of the guys.  
Sam flexed her fingers, feeling them scratching the dirt. At least what felt like dirt. This was wrong. Something...was wrong.  
She lifted her face out of the dust and forced her eyes open, trying to make them focus. OK, she wasn't her best in the morning, but never like this. She almost felt drugged...wait a minute, the dart. Using the surge of fear induced adrenaline she forced her hands under her body and pushed herself to something approaching a sitting position. She felt for and found the small sore spot on her thigh. It and the light, muzzy headed feeling confirmed her memory of being attacked. She looked around, trying to see where she was.  
The floor was dirt...that much she already knew. A small amount of light filtered in through a pair of tiny high windows. It almost looked like a cellar. The ceiling was cob-web encrusted support beams and planking. Yep, definitely a cellar. The walls were rough hewn natural stone, maybe sandstone or granite. The mortar holding them in place was a paler color, almost a white though some parts were stained with age. There was a flight of steep wooden stairs leading to a trap door in the ceiling. Dust motes floated lazily in a tiny draft coming from a crack in one of the windows. Maybe she was still in Colorado. She looked at her watch, straining to read the dial in the dim light. Ten hours. She'd been out 10 hours. 'God I hope it's only been 10 and not 34.' Thirty-four hours and she could literally be anywhere in the world. 'Ten, let's be positive and go with 10 hours,' she told herself.  
Sam forced herself to her feet, almost falling down as she was assailed by an intense wave of dizziness. She hadn't felt this dizzy since Aris shot her. Maybe she could climb out the window?  
She lurched her way over to the wall, planning to use it to keep herself upright long enough to check out the window. Her trek was halted by a small moan from behind her. She turned and saw another person lying in the dirt. Sara. Damn, they took her too. Sam turned and made her way to the unconscious woman. She held out a shaky hand and checked her pulse. A little weak, but otherwise OK. Chances are she was hit by the same stuff.  
Feeling her touch, Sara moaned again and tried to open her eyes. "Wha..." she started as she weakly brought her hand up to her head.  
"Whoa. Take it easy. What ever they used it packs a kick," Sam said quietly.  
"They?" Sara asked softly as she fought to sit up. Sam reached out a steadying hand. "Two guys...tranquilizer darts," Sam prodded.  
"I...there was someone." Sara pulled up the sleeve of her denim jacket and revealed a tiny smear of blood surrounding a small puncture. Sam was sure her leg looked the same. "Yeah. Give it a few minutes. This stuff makes you a little woozy." Sam gave Sara what she hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm going to see if I can find us a way out of here," she said as she carefully stood up. "Where is here?" Sara asked as Sam made her way to the windows.  
"Don't know for sure. I think we were out for about 10 hours. (I hope"  
"So"  
"So...theoretically we could be almost anywhere but I doubt we're too far from Colorado Springs"  
"What makes you say that?" Sara asked as she got to her feet and joined Sam in slowly walking the perimeter of the cellar. Other than the two high windows, a toilet in the corner and the rickety stairway, the room was completely bare. 'Oh what I wouldn't give for some C-4 or my MP-5,' Sam thought. 'Heck, let's not be greedy...I'll settle for my knife, radio, cell phone'  
"Sam..." Sara broke into Sam's wishful thinking. "I'm sorry...what?" Sam replied, running her fingers over the wall looking for loose mortar or an oh so convenient hidden door. "What makes you think we're still in Colorado?" Sara repeated.  
"Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't made many enemies (Not on this planet anyway, she mentally added), and what few I have would probably be satisfied with keying my car not kidnapping me"  
Sara chuckled. "Mrs. Johnson is annoyed with me because Dad trimmed her roses too close to the hedge but I don't think she's this mad. I still don't get why that means we're close to home though"  
Sam hesitated a moment, almost not wanting to put her suspicions into words. Looking into Sara's concerned face, she made her decision. Chances are this whole thing was her fault. OK, maybe more SG-1's and the SGC's fault, but at least part of the blame was hers. Of the two of them, it was far more likely Sam was the target, Sara just an innocent victim. If her life was truly in danger, she at least deserved an explanation... or as much of one she could give.  
"I have a nagging suspicion this is related to...work somehow," Sam said slowly.  
"You mean what Jack does"  
"Yeah," Sam paused in her searching and looked Sara in the eyes. "The colonel's sort of good at"  
"Making enemies," Sara finished, a knowing look on her face.  
Sam nodded. "Look, if someone comes down here, don't say anything," she instructed. "Let them give me an idea what's going on. Course if we're lucky we can find a way out of here first." Sam paused and looked up to the window. It would be tight but maybe... Her musings were stopped as she heard footsteps and the rattle of a lock. She turned and met Sara's gaze.  
"Time to meet the neighbors," Sara quipped as she and Sam turned to see the trap door open.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daniel pulled up and parked behind Sam's car. Jack opened the door and was hurrying towards the vehicle before Daniel had the ignition turned off. The young man got out and met Jack who was opening Sam's car door. "What?" Daniel asked.  
Jack shook his head. "This isn't right. The engine's cold and Sam would never leave this," he said holding up the folders with big red 'Classified' stamped on them he'd just retrieved from her back seat, "just lying around unguarded"  
"Maybe her and Sara started gossiping and lost track of time," Daniel suggested hopefully, though the look on his face told Jack he know just how unlikely that was.  
"Uh huh...let's check inside," Jack suggested as he popped the button to lock Sam's car and slammed the door shut. "You have a key?" Daniel asked as he followed his friend.  
Jack shook his head. "Not any more. But I do know where she keeps it," he replied as he paused to survey the small flower garden by the porch.  
"She plants her keys"  
"No...aah here it is." Jack picked up a small stone. He turned it over in his hand and popped open a tiny lid. He pulled out a key and took the steps two at a time.  
"Neat trick," Daniel said. Jack unlocked the door, replaced the key and tossed the faux rock at Daniel. "Here's a rock for your collection," he said then stopped. "Daniel...maybe you better wait out here," Jack suggested.  
"Why"  
"Just...it might be better." Daniel realized what his friend was trying not to say. Jack didn't want Daniel to walk into...something bad.  
"Jack, I can handle"  
"I don't doubt you Danny. I ...just please stay here," he requested earnestly. Recognizing Jack's need to protect him Daniel nodded. Though there was no way he was staying outside. He wouldn't let Jack face whatever might be in that house alone. He'd just let Jack get ahead and follow him in a minute.  
As Jack slowly pushed the front door open, Daniel looked quickly towards the street, trying to see if there was any danger from the rear. Two flashes of white under the edge of a bush caught his eye. Giving the open door a quick glance, he hurried down the steps for a closer look. He saw two pieces of mail lying on the ground. He picked them up. Both were damp, indicating they'd been lying there for a little while, but the paper wasn't warped enough to suggest they'd been rained on. His guess was that they'd been lying in the grass overnight. He read the addresses and saw they weren't Sara's, rather a neighbor's. Maybe the post man dropped them. As he turned to go back to Jack, a tiny, shiny glint in the grass caught his eye. He bent down and saw an all too familiar sight. Pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, he carefully picked up the tiny dart by its feathery end. Whether made by the Salish thousands of light-years away or a factory in New Jersey, the basic design for tranquilizer darts hadn't changed much in a few thousand years.  
Daniel walked back to the porch and up the steps. He'd left Jack alone too long. Course there were no gun shots or crashing of furniture...it couldn't be too bad.  
He slowly opened the front door and tried to walk silently through the entry way. He peeked his head around the door jamb and saw Jack sitting on Sara's couch, a look Daniel had never seen before on his face.  
"Jack?" he asked quietly. If he'd picked anything up in the past 3 years it was that it just wasn't wise to startle people who are trained in hand to hand combat. A person tended to live longer if he announced his presence. "Jack?" he repeated when he heard no answer. His friend didn't acknowledge him. Daniel walked into the living room and joined him on the couch. Feeling the cushions shift position, Jack turned his head, the look on his face telling Daniel he'd just registered his presence.  
"They got her," Jack said quietly.  
"Who"  
"I don't freaking know!" Jack exclaimed, Daniel's question pulling him out of his shocked state. "All I know is that some son of a bitch wants me to kill someone or they kill Sara!" Jack jumped off the couch and started pacing the room. Daniel knew this was Jack's way of dealing with something he couldn't control.  
"What?" Daniel asked, shocked, wondering if he was stuck in the middle of some bad movie.  
"Look Danny," Jack said as he halted by the table and showed Daniel the contents of the box. Daniel leaned forward to see a shiny black rifle and some pieces of paper. Even to his untrained eyes it looked like a blue print. Daniel went to pick up the note lying on top of the gun then stopped.  
"What?" Jack asked as he saw Daniel hesitate. "It won't bite"  
"No. I'm not...what if there's fingerprints? Won't my touching it mess them up"  
"Daniel, whoever's doing this...I doubt they care very much about fingerprints," Jack said as he picked up the note and handed it to Daniel.

We have her, and if you ever want to see her alive again you will do exactly what you are instructed to do.

Daniel swallowed and turned to Jack. "What are you supposed to do?" he asked, morbidly curious.  
Jack snorted. "Oh nothing important. I'm just supposed to assassinate someone"  
"Aah...what"  
"Yeah. I'm supposed to kill Senator Kinsey when he's in the Springs Tuesday night"  
"Jack, this is crazy. You're no assassin!" Jack gave his friend a look that told him there was something else about Jack's classified past that was about to come to light.  
"Not lately," he said, self-disgust in his voice as he turned away and stared out Sara's front window.  
"Jack?" Daniel asked as he got up to stand beside his friend. He met Daniel's inquisitive gaze and sighed heavily. "Daniel, let's just say Black Ops isn't only sneaking into places and blowing stuff up OK?" Jack said, running his hand over his head and massaging the back of his neck.  
"You've killed people?" Daniel asked, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.  
"Your hands aren't lily white either," Jack snarled.  
"Yeah..." Daniel started, then realized they were getting off the topic. He sighed, letting Jack have the last word. Fighting wasn't going to get Sam back...Sam... "Jack, if they took Sara...where's Sam?" he asked realizing there were two missing women not just one.  
Jack met Daniel's shocked gaze. He was right. Both of them were missing and the note...Jack snatched the note out of Daniel's hands and frantically re-read it.  
"Who do they have?" he asked rhetorically. "Sam or Sara"  
"Or both," Daniel said.

XXXXXXXXXX

As the trap door opened with the faint squeak of old, disused hinges, Sam gently grasped Sara's arm, pulling her away from the windows. No reason to tip their meager hand. The wooden steps creaked in protest as a pair of booted feet began their descent into the cellar. Sam contemplated rushing the guard...for about 10 seconds. Maybe...maybe if she'd been with the guys or even alone. But she had Sara to consider. She felt she had an obligation to try and get Sara out of this mess in one piece. No...the best thing would be to bide her time. Basically alone and unarmed, she figured their best chance was to just sneak away.  
"Now, now, now ladies. Let's not be difficult," the man said as he crouched on the steps so he could survey the whole room. "Step over here where I can keep an eye on you," he instructed them. Neither Sara or Sam moved. In response he sighed and pulled a pistol from a shoulder holster. "Either step over here or I'll have to get...unpleasant," he said, cocking the pistol to illustrate his point. Sara looked at Sam who shrugged slightly. Options seemed to be in short supply. They both did as they were told. Satisfied, the man continued his trip down the stairs. Sam glanced up and saw a second figure at the top of the stairs. So there were two of them. She turned her attention back to the first man, trying to gain a clue about who he was. Tweedle Dee...stupid name but it was better than Jackass. How about Dumb and Dumber? No make that Dead and Deader. That's what they'll be when Teal'c, Jack and even Daniel got done with them. Not just the guys. Ferretti would want his piece. Lou Ferretti liked Sam. By the time he and SG-2 got done with...with what? she asked herself. How can you fantasize about the guys pounding some jerk when they're nowhere around. You're a big girl. You've killed gods...you can handle a couple of GI Joe wannabe's. What would the colonel do? Shoot his mouth off. OK, I'll pass on that part. All it usually does is get him somebody's fist. After shooting his mouth off he'd look for some weakness. You can do this. Who needs to wait patiently for someone to rescue us...just do it yourself.  
Sam forced her attention back to her captor. His clothing was vaguely familiar. Standard Black Ops type, black boots, pants and shirt, similar to what she and the rest of SG-1 had worn when they infiltrated Apophis' and Klorel's ships. Sam was relieved to see a stocking cap pulled over his head, concealing his identity. If they didn't want them to see their faces, chances are they weren't planning to kill them...not outright anyway.  
Tweedle Dee strode down the remaining steps displaying the cockiness and arrogance cowards have when they have the upper hand.  
"Well ladies," he drawled as he reached the bottom and started walking towards them. "Seems we got a bit of a problem here"  
"You're holding us against our will...I think WE have the problem," Sam said.  
"Think I can fix that for you. I only need one of you. Just tell me which of you is Sara O'Neill and I'll let the other go." Sara met Sam's shocked gaze. Sam saw her start to open her mouth, presumably to claim her identity. Sam slipped her hand over Sara's in a silent warning. If it was truly Sara they wanted, Sam was expendable. "Well ladies...you gonna help me out here? Tell me which of you is O'Neill's ex and I'll let the other go"  
"I may be blond but I'm not stupid," Sara said, "The one of us you don't need is dead. So unless you want half the Air Force hunting your ass down why don't you let both of us go." As she spoke she raised her voice, her anger and frustration at the whole situation showing through.  
Tweedle Dee took a menacing step forward, his beady brown eyes narrowing as he bristled at Sara's goading. "Returning you alive doesn't necessarily mean in one piece bitch. Push me and you'll both be dead," he snarled, pushing his pistol in Sara's face to make his point, Sam's presence forgotten.  
Taking the opportunity, Sam struck out, grasping his gun hand, forcing the weapon to point harmlessly to the ceiling. She slammed her foot into his instep, cursing his heavy boots but still feeling the satisfaction at his howl of pain. She twisted the pistol from his grasp and brought her fists together to strike him on the back of his head, sending him to his knees.  
"Come on!" she said, turning her attention towards the open door and freedom. Her flight came to an abrupt stop as Tweedle Dee's hand snaked out, catching Sam's foot, sending her crashing to the ground, her stolen pistol skittering across the floor. Sara stepped forward to aid her stunned friend as Tweedle Dum came crashing down the stairs and pushed her against the rough stone wall, his pistol pushing cruelly into her ribs, his forearm across her throat. "I don't give a damn which of these women is O'Neill's wife...I say we teach 'em both some manners," he said, pushing Sara harder against the wall, the rough stone surface scraping her back even through the heavy jeans jacket. Hearing their plans, Sam renewed her struggles against Tweedle Dee who lashed out with a jab to the side of her head that left her unconscious in the dirt. "That's for my foot," Tweedle Dee said coldly.  
"What the hell is going on here?" Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum looked up to see their boss standing at the foot of the stairs, hands on his hips and a fierce scowl evident even through the ski mask he wore also.  
"Sir...we"  
"You were to have NO contact with the prisoners. I believe assault counts as contact," he said fiercely. Tweedle Dee quickly gained his feet as Tweedle Dum released Sara, leaving her to slump against the wall, her hand going reflexively to her throat in an effort to ease the offended area. "Both of you upstairs...NOW!" he ordered in a voice that reminded Sara of Jack's the time or two she'd seen him slip into full 'colonel mode'. The third man stepped away from the base of the stairs as Dee and Dum moved to obey his order, one of them retrieving the pistol out of the dirt. Sara watched him stand there, his arms crossed over his barrel-like chest as the two goons retreated. Once they were out of sight, she saw him step towards Sam. "Leave her alone," Sara ordered in a voice she was glad didn't shake...much.  
"Easy...If I wanted her dead I wouldn't have chased off the Bobsey twins," he drawled in a soothing, low voice. Sara saw him check Sam's pulse, then her pupils. "She's just unconscious," he diagnosed as he stood back up. "I'll send down some food, water and blankets," he informed her as he stepped back.  
Sara looked from the man to Sam and back, fear and distrust clear on her face. He took one look at her and sighed. Glancing up at the stairway to insure they were unobserved he took a step towards Sara. She tried to back away only to encounter that cursed wall again. He held up his hands in an effort to show her he wasn't going to hurt her. "Look," he whispered harshly, "I'm doing what I can to keep you two alive." He glanced nervously upwards as the ceiling creaked with the movement of the other two men. "Tell the major to behave herself. If she pulls another stunt like that I might not be able to keep them back. OK?" he said quietly but harshly.  
Not knowing what else to do, Sara nodded silently and watched him retreat up the stairs, leaving her and Sam alone in their prison again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Now let me get this straight," General Hammond said, "You are supposed to kill Senator Kinsey or Major Carter or your ex-wife or both will be killed?" he asked a troubled Jack O'Neill as he watched the man pace. Hammond was unpleasantly reminded of a tiger in too small of a cage. The cacophony of happy, care-free children playing near by was an unpleasant counter point to the seriousness of the situation. Hammond, Daniel and Jack were meeting in the tiny gazebo in the city park. Even as they spoke, SG-8 was on their way to Broca to call Teal'c back, the situation forcing him to abandon his visit with Drey'ac and Ry'ac. Jack hated to pull him away from his family, Teal'c got to visit them so rarely, but he also knew the Jaffa would never forgive him if he was left out. Since his little foray into Maybourne's never-never land, Jack found himself growing increasingly distrustful of people on the base. Someone had been feeding Harry mission reports and duty rosters. A someone Hammond had yet to ferret out. Putting two and two together, Jack figured Maybourne had to be involved with Sam and Sara's disappearance. Therefore the need for all the cloak and dagger stuff.  
Jack knew if Harry knew he'd gone to Hammond...well they were as good as dead.  
"That's about the size of it," Jack said with a heavy sigh, "You know sir, I'm not quite ready to become a charter member of the Senator Kinsey fan club, but I sorta draw the line at murder," Jack said quietly.  
"Are we sure they even have Major Carter as their prisoner?" Hammond asked, "The note was very vague"  
"She's AWOL sir. Have you ever known Carter to just disappear?" Jack asked, not wanting to think of the other reason she could be missing. He figured she was either a prisoner or dead. He much preferred the former. "Her car was left in front of Sara's house, unlocked. Maybe whoever took them didn't know who to take," Daniel suggested.  
"What do you mean"  
"Well face it Jack, Sam and Sara do look a little alike," Daniel said with a shrug.  
"General, can you find out where Maybourne is?" Jack requested.  
"Do you think he's behind this?" Hammond asked.  
"Frankly sir I have no idea," Jack sighed, "But something this cowardly is right up Harry's alley."

XXXXXXXXXX

Sara gingerly leaned her bruised back against the wall and waited for her companion to wake up. Surprisingly the third man had indeed kept his word. Several minutes after he left them, the trap door opened again and two blankets, a couple MREs and two bottles of water were set on the top step. Once she heard the clatter of the lock being replaced, she had hurriedly climbed the steps and retrieved the supplies before their captors could change their minds. It was now mid Monday morning and almost 24 hours since her last meal, and despite the fear, her stomach was demanding attention.  
As she slowly sipped the water, not knowing how long it would have to last her, she wondered just what Jack had gotten himself into this time. A lot more than Sam was telling her, she could tell that from the evasive manner in which the woman had not answered her questions last night. During their marriage she knew he'd kept things from her. Lots of things.  
When they were in bed, she'd ask him about his scars. And he'd come up with some flippant answer. Usually attack of the killer munchkins or something equally benign and untrue. If she tried to talk with him about his nightmares, he'd clam up, refuse to discuss it and go sleep in the couch.  
She knew he thought he was protecting her, protecting Charlie, from the harsh realities of the world. In truth, every time he'd spun some sarcastic lie she'd felt a tiny part of her die inside. Didn't he know her imagination was able to supply her with far worse images than if he'd just told her the truth? Didn't he realize there were plenty of people willing to supply her with details and gossip? Didn't he know she just wanted to help him, to heal him? To help banish his demons.  
Soon his lying, his shutting her out and her pretending it didn't hurt became such an integral part of their relationship she didn't think either of them recognized when the time came that she wouldn't believe him if he said the sky was blue, and he was so convinced her apathy meant she didn't love him anymore rather than she was just so tired of being hurt, shutting him out in return was the only solution. Soon, Charlie was the only thing binding them. A gulf so large had grown, they couldn't even join together to mourn their son.  
In a way she envied Sam Carter. The woman got to share a side of Jack Sara had only seen once or twice over the years. Too bad she couldn't join the Air Force and see what this Stargate thing was that demanded so much of his time and energy.  
Sara's musings ended as she saw Sam beginning to stir. Sara pushed herself forward and put her hand on Sam's arm.  
"Hey. How are you feeling?" she asked the woman. Sam's eyes fluttered, then opened. She met Sara's gaze. "What"  
"Goon boy punched you," Sara reminded her. She saw Sam close her eyes as she nodded. "Oh yeah. Hate it when that happens," she mumbled, "How long?" she asked.  
"Almost an hour," Sara said as Sam slowly rolled to her side and pushed herself up. "How's your head?" Sara asked as Sam gingerly explored the darkening bruise on her cheekbone.  
"Don't suppose you have any aspirin on you?" she asked with a wry grin.  
Sara shook her head. "No. But our host did give us some," Sara said as she held up a small green packet. Sam recognized it as standard issue aspirin from a med-kit. She took the packet with a frown, noting the pills were still in date. This wasn't something someone picked up from a surplus store. "He also gave us some blankets, water and food. Though I think calling MREs food is a huge compliment," Sara said, motioning to the tiny pile of supplies.  
Sam hesitated a second, seeing that Sara had already drunk some of the water. "I don't know if we should trust this stuff," Sam said quietly.  
Sara shook her head. "I think it's OK. We seem to have a friend upstairs," she said pointing at the dusty planks.  
Sam raised her eyebrows. "A friend?" she asked skeptically. "If we had a friend would we still be down here"  
"Look, after that guy knocked you out a third man came down here. He called them off. Stopped them from..." Sara hesitated and swallowed, thinking about what they had avoided. "Anyway, after he chased the first two back upstairs, and warned them to leave us the hell alone, he checked you out and then told me to tell you that you better behave because he might not be able to keep them back next time," Sara reported.  
"I don't get how that makes him a friend. Not that I mind what he did," Sam said with a little shake in her voice.  
"He called you major. He knows which of us is which," Sara whispered harshly, "I think he's keeping that from them." Sam felt her hopes rise. "So we may have an ally?" she asked. Sara nodded. "OK. That's a good thing," Sam said. "You know, maybe I'll take that aspirin after all," she said, shifting to a sitting position.  
Sara smiled and handed over the packet. She motioned towards the MREs. "Don't suppose our friend would heat these up for us?" she asked with a small smile on her face.  
Sam shrugged as she tipped the aspirin into her mouth and washed them down with a sip of water. "Dunno. Wonder if we could get him to order us a pizza"  
"Ice Cream?" Sara asked.  
"Margarita...a big one," Sam requested.  
"Make that a double. I really need a drink," Sara said, sincerely.  
"Nothing like getting kidnapped and held for ransom to work up a thirst," Sam grinned as she tore open one of the MREs. "Ugh," she said with a grimace.  
"What"  
Sam held up the packet. "Cold macaroni and cheese," she said with a look of distaste on her face. Sara opened the other packet. "Mine's the same," she said.  
"OK. Once we get out of this we're going out. Steaks and margaritas," Sam suggested.  
Sara grinned. "Deal. And I'm going to steal Jack's credit card. This whole mess has to be his fault. He's gonna pay"  
"Oh he'll LOVE that," Sam said, knowing full well how the colonel hated paying for anything.  
"Look. He gives us any guff, I'll stick him for dessert too," Sara said in a tone that told Sam she was well used to dealing with the man.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He got clearance," Samuels heard the voice on the phone say.  
"What? Harry is being held persona non grata. His guards can't even speak to him, much less visitors," Bert complained peevishly.  
"The Joint Chiefs can do whatever they want," the voice replied wryly.  
"I see. Thank you," Bert said as he hung up the phone. He sat there for a second, contemplating his next move.  
"Kill a hostage"  
"You can't be serious?" Bert asked incredulously. "Let him know you mean business. Due to your men's ineptness you have an extra. Use the mistake to your advantage. It is the only way to attain our goal"  
"Which one do I kill"  
"Doesn't matter. Either will do." Bert silently agreed, then picked up the phone to make the call.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack O'Neill flashed his credentials and made his way down the utilitarian gray hallway. No matter the country, prisons were the same. The clanging of iron doors, men's desperate voices, the smell of fear. The Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth may be a lot cleaner and a bit more civil than ones Jack had been in before, but it was still a prison. He sincerely hoped the time wasted in the flight to Leavenworth from Colorado Springs would be worth it. He cursed the hours spent idle. He felt like he was doing nothing. Nothing to help his friend, his ex-wife. Damn it! They were innocent. Well, maybe not innocent...but if Carter was capable of espionage he wouldn't have had to lie to her a few weeks ago. And Sara. She didn't even know what the freaking stargate was! Not really anyway. His mind kept torturing him with images of what could be happening to them. He had first hand experience of just how low a human could sink. He nodded to the burley guard and waited for the man to open the heavy metal door. He fought to hide a satisfied grin at the sight of Harry Maybourne sitting at a gray painted table, in shackles, wearing bright orange prison garb, vaguely reminiscent of hospital scrubs. "Nice digs you got here Harry," Jack said as he turned the chair around and straddled it, laying his arms across the back.  
"Come to gloat about my imprisonment Jack?" Harry asked in a quiet, bitter voice.  
"Nah, you know me. I hate kicking people when they're down. Anyway, you do such a good job sabotaging yourself...I really don't have to do a thing," Jack drawled, enjoying the sight of the pompous man so belittled. Maybe it had all been worth it. Oh for a camera. An 8x10 glossy of Harry in chains to decorate his office wall. "What the hell do you want Jack?" Harry snarled, signaling the end of the game. That was fine with him. The sooner he got his answers the better.  
"You want me to get straight to the point? Fine. What did you do with Major Carter and Sara O'Neill"  
Maybourne frowned at the colonel. "Can't keep track of your women Jack?" he asked, an oily tone in his voice.  
O'Neill leapt from the chair, leaned across the table and grabbed Maybourne by his collar. "Don't screw with me Harry! I am SO not in the mood today. Tell me what the hell you've done with them!" Jack demanded, pulling the collar tighter and making Maybourne gasp a bit.  
"N...nothing," he forced out. The pair stared each other down for a minute, then seeing Harry's eyes beginning to bulge, Jack reluctantly let him go. Maybourne sank back into his chair. He rubbed his throat and looked at Jack speculatively. 'Maybe...maybe he could use this,' Harry thought as Jack pulled the chair back to its position and sat back down, a study of barely contained rage.  
"Perhaps if you filled me in on the details," he whispered hoarsely. Jack sighed heavily and relented, knowing, no matter how much it galled him, he needed any information Harry might have. "They've been kidnapped," he stated coldly, "And I'm betting YOU know something about it," Jack said, pointing his finger in Harry's face, causing the man to flinch.  
Harry set his jaw. "Believe it or not, I wouldn't ever do anything to harm Major Carter. She's far too valuable a resource"  
"Resource?" Jack asked. "She's a human being, not a library book"  
"She is the only person on this planet who has knowledge of the Tok'ra, not to mention her link with Jacob Carter and Selmac. Her ability to use Goa'uld technology is also invaluable. In fact, I've tried to make her several very lucrative offers to come work at Nellis but, for some reason, she keeps refusing," Harry said quietly, a note of frustration in his voice.  
Jack snorted loudly. "Carter wouldn't work for you if you were the last person on Earth," Jack stated baldly.  
"That's pretty much what she said. She was more polite about it though," Harry said wryly.  
"It's a bad habit of hers," Jack said. "Been trying to break her of it for years"  
Harry leaned forward. "Look Jack, believe it or not, I do have some scruples. I don't involve civilians. It gets too messy, causes too many questions. And I sure as hell couldn't have done anything from in here. I can't even watch TV. Whoever snatched your wife and the major...they're not NID," Harry declared.  
Jack shook his head. "How can you know what's going on from in here? It could very well be another NID idiot"  
"No," Harry shook his head emphatically. "The Pollyanna that's running the NID now wouldn't dare. He's under too much scrutiny," he said with certainty. "You know Jack, there ARE other people you've pissed off over the years. Thought about that?" he asked.  
"Are you suggesting this is a personal attack against me?" "I'm just saying that believe it or not, the NID ISN'T behind every conspiracy. Maybe you should see if any of the skeletons in your closet have decided to get even?" Harry suggested with a smirk.  
Sensing he would get nothing further from the man, Jack got up, turning the chair back around, then walked towards the door. He slammed his fist on the unforgiving surface to attract the attention of the guard.  
"Oh Jack," Harry said, "if the major is sick and tired of working her ass off and being under appreciated, tell her my offer is still open"  
Jack turned as the door opened. "What the hell you gonna offer her...adjoining cells"  
"You don't really think my stay here is permanent, do you? Surely you know me better than that," he said confidently. Jack bit his tongue as the guard walked past him to escort Maybourne back to his cell. "I'll be seeing you...soon." he heard Harry say as he walked out of the room.  
XXXXXXXXXX

Sam slipped the folded blanket behind her and used it as a cushion between herself and the wall. She looked over to Sara, curled up under her blanket taking a nap. At least she was putting her enforced idleness to good use. That was the worst thing about captivity...boredom.  
Once they'd finished their nourishing, if barely edible meal, the two women set themselves to fully exploring their prison. The room was just as barren and the walls just as secure as they had been hours before. The windows were big enough for them to squeeze through, but unless they managed to conjure up a cutting torch, the bars outside the window wells were impenetrable. And even if they could get past the lock on the other side of the trap door, there was no way they could get past 3 or hopefully 2 armed guards. Realizing they wouldn't be going anywhere until their captors chose to let them go, the two women sat down and took inventory of their pockets.  
They both had their car keys which could be used as weapons if it came down to hand to hand. Though Sara had expressed doubts about her ability. Jack's self-defense lessons had been years before. Sara had 10.39, a tube of chapstick, a pen and some coupons left over from her shopping trip. Sam also had a tube of chapstick, a fact they both laughed over, the bag with hers and Cassie's earrings, the change and receipt from that purchase and a pen she'd absent-mindedly stuck in her pocket weeks ago. Sam felt herself tearing up at the sight of the small amber earrings. She hoped she would be able to give them to the girl Saturday.  
Once they confirmed neither possessed a hidden weapon, they both agreed to rest and wait for either their chance to escape or whatever their fate may be.  
Sam suggested Sara sleep first. She had protested, but Sam reassured her she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.  
Sam occupied herself trying to figure out who was behind the whole scheme. Harry Maybourne figured top of her mental list. She knew Colonel O'Neill's infiltration had seriously weakened the man's power base and that he was locked up...somewhere. She wasn't naive enough to believe he would stay there. His whole career was built on lies and favors. Eventually he'd surface. Men like Maybourne may be weasels, but they were also survivors.  
A more immediate puzzle was the identity of their helper upstairs. She'd been around the world a couple of times, but with the exception of a handful of people at the Pentagon and a few labs, she wasn't extremely well known outside the SGC. This fact limited the possibilities of the man's identity.  
'And if he truly was a friend, why the hell hadn't he done more to get us out of this whole mess?' she asked herself, frustrated with the sense of helplessness she felt.  
Sam's head snapped up at the sound of the lock rattling. She reached out and shook Sara awake. She woke with a start and both women got to their feet, Sara stepping clear of the blanket pooled on the floor.  
The trap door slammed back and a figure descended the steps, his slight limp telling them he was the one they'd dealt with before.  
They both tensed as the man drew closer. Sam felt her heart sink as she realized his face wasn't covered. The only reason not to care if they could identify him was if they wouldn't be around TO identify him. "If you get a chance, run," Sam whispered urgently. Maybe one of them could get away.  
"What"  
Sam turned and met Sara's shocked gaze. "No matter what. If you can...run," she instructed.  
"No," Sara said.  
"Yes," Sam insisted.  
"Well ladies, seems somebody's being a bit stubborn. My boss needs one of you to relay a message for me," he said, pulling his pistol from its holster. He took perverse satisfaction in the twin looks of horror and fear before him. Remembering his experiences last time, he maintained his distance as he aimed his weapon alternately between Sara and Sam as if playing a game of eeny-meeny-miney-mo.  
The sharp report of a gun broke the silence of the room, punctuated by a short, sharp scream and caused a tiny shower of dust to rain from the ceiling like gentle snowflakes to blanket the crumpled body lying on the dirt floor, it's blood streaming silently into the dirt.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack forced himself to walk slowly out the front doors of the penitentiary. Even after all these years, it was all he could do not to run pell-mell for freedom. He paused a second, putting on his shades against the strong afternoon Kansas sunshine and took a deep breath of fresh air. Waste of time. All he'd accomplished was to eliminate a remote possibility. Shaking his head, he made his way to the rental car and a waiting Daniel. "Anything?" the young man asked.  
"Nothing," Jack replied shortly as he got into the passenger seat. Daniel got behind the wheel and sighed heavily. Jack looked at him. "What?" he asked, seeing the look on Daniel's face.  
"Um...Jack...Hammond called"  
Jack felt hope rise. "Did they find them?" he asked urgently.  
"Not exactly," Daniel said.  
Jack turned in the seat to face him. "What does NOT EXACTLY mean?" he asked, his voice rising.  
"Hammond got a call from the police...they found a body," Daniel said quietly, tears beginning to fill his eyes.  
Jack felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. No. This could not be happening. "Who..." he forced out.  
Daniel shook his head. "They don't know...umm...they said she'd been beat up pretty badly...There's an emergency at the base, Hammond can't get away...he wants you...us...to identify the...body"  
Jack closed his eyes, telling himself the tears were a result of the bright sun. He swallowed. "Then we better get back," he said quietly, forcing his voice to remain even. No matter who it was, she wasn't going to lie anonymously in some damned morgue any longer than necessary. And they...he needed to find the survivor. He wouldn't let both of them die. And then...someone was going to pay, he swore. If it was the last thing he did.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack and Daniel stepped out of the plane onto the tarmac. They both paused a second, waiting for their eyes to adjust from the artificial lighting of the jet to the dimmer twilight of Colorado. Jack saw the large form of Teal'c walking towards them. The White Sox ballcap he wore to conceal his golden tattoo an incongruous match to the standard issue fatigues he wore.  
"O'Neill," he called. Jack raised his hand in acknowledgment as he and Daniel hurried toward the Jaffa.  
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked when they got close enough to be heard over the roar of distant jets without yelling.  
"I had an airman bring me. I will accompany you to the morgue"  
Jack shook his head. "Teal'c, that isn't necessary"  
"Yes it is," He insisted, "Major Carter is a valued companion. If the deceased woman is her, it is my duty to maintain Kree'tah"  
"Kree-what?" Jack asked.  
"Kree'tah. It's an ancient rite. A vigil of the dead, done to protect them...their souls from evil spirits," Daniel translated quietly as they reached the car. "And if it's Sara?" Jack asked.  
"I will do the same for the mate of a friend," Teal'c said as he met Jack's eyes across the roof of the car. Jack nodded solemnly in acknowledgment then they all got in the car and drove off to an appointment none of them wanted to keep.

XXXXXXXXXX

"For crying out loud! How long does it take?" Jack asked petulantly as he paced the small white waiting room. God he hated these places. The sterile white walls decorated with generic, mass-produced artwork. The chairs, whether plastic or cloth were universally uncomfortable. You would think a place set aside for waiting would at least have comfortable chairs.  
Daniel looked up from the two year old issue of People he was thumbing through and met Teal'c's steady gaze. They both knew Jack would rather not be here. Heck, none of them wanted to be here. Daniel would rather return to Abydos, see if Heru'ur had come back for a visit. Maybe go back and talk to Shy'la, hell he'd go look up Hathor again, if she wasn't already dead. Just about anything to prevent what was about to happen. During the flight and drive here he'd offered prayers to the deities of every denomination he'd ever studied, and a few he'd only heard of. "Jack, it's late. Probably only 1 or 2 people working the graveyard shift," he paused, grimacing at his choice of words. "Oh sweet Danny. Carter could be in...there and you're making bad jokes!" Jack exploded, striding towards the man.  
Daniel instinctively stood up, the magazine fluttering unnoticed to the green tile floor. "Jack, I didn't think...I"  
"No Daniel. You never think! If you thought more often we wouldn't have spent two weeks in a freaking Naquadah mine. It was at your insistence that we hung around in Simarka and nearly got Carter killed. We almost got marooned on Heliopolis 'cause you had to play with the light show. Oh and need I mention your last girlfriend...The Destroyer of Worlds!" Jack snarled, his face mere inches from Daniel's.  
"Don't forget Hathor. I invited her in you know. And our whole trip to Klorel's ship...that was my fault too. Let's not forget Heru'ur and Apophis both wanting to get a hold of us because of Shau'ri's baby. And I nearly got Teal'c killed when I infected him with Machello's Goa'uld busters. And heck, wanna throw in world hunger and the war in the middle east while you're at it? Did I leave anything out?!" Daniel yelled back, staring Jack down.  
They stood there for a second, neither moving. Teal'c readied himself to intervene should either man resort to physical action.  
Jack broke contact first, his eyes closing and his taught body slumping in defeat. He dropped into one of the chairs and hunched over, propping his elbows on his knees and burying his head in his hands. "God Danny...I'm sorry...I didn't mean"  
Daniel sighed and sat next to his friend. "It's OK Jack," he said, seeing Teal'c relax back into his chair.  
"No Daniel, it's not. I shouldn't take this out on you," Jack said quietly, running his hands over his head.  
"It's OK," Daniel repeated, "I understand. I'd be punching the wall right now if I didn't want to spend the next six weeks in a cast"  
"No. You don't understand. This whole thing...it's all my fault"  
"How'd it get to be your fault?" Daniel asked, confused.  
"If they were after Sara, if she's...in there, it's because of me"  
"I still don't understand"  
"Daniel, you heard Makepeace. This whole...conspiracy thing...God only knows how far it stretches. Sara doesn't even get speeding tickets. The only reason for anyone to try to hurt her is because of me. And Sam...she was just doing me a favor, helping me out. If I hadn't been so brain-dead I'd have given Sara the papers she needed when I promised her I would and Carter'd be safe," Jack finished, steepling his hands and staring intently at the tiles on the floor. "O'Neill, did you abduct Sara O'Neill or Major Carter?" Teal'c asked.  
"What the hell kinda question is that?" Jack snapped.  
"If you did not perpetrate the act, you bear no responsibility for it," Teal'c stated quietly.  
"Colonel O'Neill," a voice said from the doorway. The three men looked up to see the petite red-headed woman dressed in blue scrubs and a crumpled white lab coat standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry about the wait. We're ready for you"  
Jack nodded. "Right." The three men stood up in unison.  
"Jack...do you want me"  
"O'Neill, I am familiar with the appearance of both women. I can identify her for you." Teal'c offered.  
"No. Danny, Teal'c. Thank you but I have to...need...to do this," Jack said, forcing his voice to remain steady.  
The two men watched their friend slowly walk towards the coroner, an exhaustion, a defeat in his stride, a shuffle in his steps as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. As Jack disappeared from sight they both reclaimed their seats and continued their vigil.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack followed the woman down the corridor towards a pair of shiny stainless steel swinging doors at the end. He heard the rubber soles of his boots make tiny squeaking noises on the institutional tile floor. He wrinkled his nose against the smell of bleach, disinfectant and floor wax and hunched his shoulders, pulling the edges of his jacket closer. Why did they always keep these places so damned cold?  
"I'm afraid this isn't going to be pleasant colonel"  
"Huh?" Jack asked, forcing himself to pay attention to the woman.  
She turned and paused just before the steel doors. She reached up and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Who ever killed her...they took their time about it. She didn't give up without a fight but...it's not a very pretty sight. You should prepare yourself," she warned him quietly.  
Jack swallowed and nodded. He'd seen bodies before, he could handle this. At least that's what he told himself.  
She placed her hand on the door and pushed it open. Jack took a deep breath and followed her into the room. He tried not to see the shiny tables with their raised edges, the trays of instruments, the purpose of which he didn't even want to guess about. The bank of doors, small square doors. Like a giant wall of safe-deposit boxes or post office boxes. But there wasn't mail inside. There were males and females, one in particular. But which one? If he could pick...which one?  
Sam...his best friend. A person who'd saved his life...too many times to count. Hell saved the whole freaking planet.  
He'd sat up nights with her after Jolinar, talking to her about it. She'd talked him down from a nightmare or two after his close encounter with Hathor's snaky little friend. They'd stood, side by side, fighting for their lives...far too often. Hell, he'd even slept with her. OK so they were freezing to death in a glacier struggling to survive, but technically they'd slept together. She was the closest friend he had, short of Daniel. If there wasn't the gulf created by their differing sexes, she'd probably be closer than Daniel.  
And Sara. The mother of his child. The woman he'd been married to for 15 years, who he promised to love, honor and protect. The person who'd held him close at night, helping to keep the nightmares at bay. The woman who'd waited for him, stood by him through years of crap. She'd put up with his mood swings, all the secrets. She didn't deserve this. Neither of them deserved this. The coroner stopped in front of one of the doors. She opened it and pulled out a tray holding a sheet shrouded figure. She reached for the edge of the white sheet and paused, looking up at him. Jack nodded and she drew back the sheet, revealing the woman's battered face and neck. "Just take your time sir," she said quietly, stepping back a bit to give him some privacy.  
Jack reached out a trembling hand and gently touched a strand of blood streaked blond hair.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He returns," Teal'c said quietly. Daniel looked up from his study of the tile floor as Jack walked into the waiting room. He didn't say a word as he crossed the tiny space and reclaimed his former chair. Daniel watched him lean forward, once again burying his face in hands propped on his knees.  
"Jack"  
"Daniel"  
"Umm...which...who?" he asked hesitantly, dying to know but not wanting to have his fears confirmed. Jack sighed heavily. "It's not her," he said, his face still buried. Daniel met Teal'c's puzzled gaze. "Her? I'm not trying to sound stupid and insensitive here but"  
Jack straightened up, leaning back in the chair, the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes. "It's not Sam," he said.  
"Oh my God Jack..." Daniel said, horrified.  
"It's not Sara either," Jack stated.  
"Then"  
"Whoever she is...it's not Carter or Sara," Jack said, still seeing the pale face of the woman, the only color the purplish red and mottled green of new and old bruises. Her blond hair, still decorated with tiny barrettes stiff with blood.  
"This is good news," Teal'c stated, confused. O'Neill's behavior did not make sense. He should be happy that he did not know the deceased.  
"I know Teal'c," Jack said, "It's just...somebody's daughter, sister, friend is lying in there," he said with a notion towards the room. "Somebody beat her...to death. And all I could feel was gratitude that I didn't know her. No sorrow, no disgust, no anger. I was happy," Jack said, self-disgust on his haggard face. "Such feelings are not inappropriate O'Neill. I too share your relief that neither Major Carter or Sara O'Neill are dead. And I grieve for the deceased. However, would not a better use of our time be to return to our efforts to find them lest we find ourselves back here, perhaps with less pleasant results"  
"Teal'c's right Jack," Daniel said. "Look it's after midnight. Maybe we should head back to the mountain, see if General Hammond has heard anything"  
Jack nodded his assent and the three men eagerly left the sterile confines of the morgue for the refreshing cleanliness of the night.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam watched in horror as her prior assailant fell to the ground, his lifeless brown eyes staring at the ceiling as his life's blood slowly seeped into the dirt. She turned her wide eyed gaze towards the masked figure descending the stairs, the smoking pistol held in his gloved hands. Sam shot a glance at the pistol clutched loosely in the corpse's twitching hand. As if sensing her plan, the man raised his weapon, placing Sam and Sara in his sights. "Don't," he warned as he finished descending the steps, casually stepping over the man he'd just killed. Keeping his gun trained on the two women he bent over the body and retrieved the dead man's gun. He stood back up and held the gun out to Sam, butt first. "They've got orders to kill you," he said urgently as Sam's gaze darted from Sara to the body to the proffered gun. "You'll need this. There's more on the way," he advised gesturing towards her with the gun, urging her to accept it. Sam slowly reached out and took the weapon, wondering what exactly his game was as her mind tried place his voice. She knew this voice. "Why?" Sara asked, motioning towards the dead man.  
"Why not?" their savior replied as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small item and tossed it to Sam. Her reflexes made her catch it before she even realized what she was doing. "The city's 20 klicks northeast," he said as he stepped back, clearing the way for them to escape. Neither woman moved, unsure if this was part of some elaborate plan. "Move out!" he ordered, "The rest will be here any minute"  
Sam looked at Sara and realized the other woman was waiting for her to make the first move. Sam nodded and Sara walked towards the steps, trying not to look at the corpse as she walked by. Sam watched Sara ascend, then stop at the top realizing she was alone.  
She turned back to see Sam still standing there, looking at the man. "Sam?" she asked confused as to why Sam wasn't right behind her.  
"What are you waiting for major, an engraved invitation? The door's open...GO!" he ordered. Listening to her instincts Sam turned to follow Sara. "Oh and major," she heard the man say, "Semper Fi Jolinar." Revelation flooded into Sam's brain with the speed of a super nova. In a smooth movement, she spun, took aim and fired. The man fell to the ground, his head striking the wall, rendering him unconscious. Ignoring Sara's startled exclamation, Sam stepped forward and checked the man's pulse. Satisfied, she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered as she claimed his gun. She stood up and shepherded Sara back up the stairs, towards freedom.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c stepped out of the elevator at level 28 and walked into slightly organized chaos. They met each other's puzzled gaze and with a silent agreement, all headed towards the control room. They strode down the gray halls, following that annoying red stripe on the floor. None of them noticed the few distracted glances they received. No communication system the Goa'uld had ever stolen worked as well as the SGC grapevine. Word of Major Carter and Sara O'Neill's predicament had been common knowledge since about noon.  
"There is much activity for the lateness of the hour," Teal'c said observing the scurrying personnel.  
"General Hammond did say there was an emergency...earlier," Daniel said.  
"Whatever it is...must be big," Jack said as he reached the control room and took the steps two at a time. "General," he said as he took sight of the rotund older man. Tonight...this morning, Hammond looked every one of his 60+ years. "Everything OK"  
"Jack," he said, relief and worry on his haggard face. "We're fine now. SG-6 & 11 had a close encounter with some Jaffa"  
"Is every one all right?" Daniel asked, trying to remember who was on the two teams.  
"No fatalities," Hammond answered, his voice full of gratitude. "How about you Jack?" he asked his tone changing to one of dread. Jack shook his head. "It wasn't her...either of them"  
"Thank God," George replied, visibly slumping in relief. Daniel saw Graham Simmons and Tech. Davis share a quiet look of relief as they tried not to look like they were eavesdropping. In truth the control room was too small for any type of a private conversation. "What do you plan to do now son?" Hammond asked quietly.  
Jack leaned against a console, massaging the back of his neck with his left hand. "I don't know sir. Do what they want me to," he suggested hopelessly.  
"Jack, you can't be seriously considering...that," Daniel asked, editing his comment as he remembered they were far from alone.  
"O'Neill, if you consider that course of action, permit me to commit the act. Since I am not of your world, I would be immune from your laws of retribution," Teal'c offered earnestly. "And I have a refuge off this planet"  
Genuinely touched by the Jaffa's act, Jack walked over to him and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Teal'c I can't ask that of you. This is my mess"  
"Son, let me make a few calls. Perhaps..." Hammond started to say, desperate to find an alternative to Jack committing murder.  
"Excuse me sir." The occupants of the room turned to see Airman Petty walking towards them. "Yes airman," Hammond said. "Sir, someone left this at the front gate," she said holding out a manila envelope. Hammond took it, seeing his name printed on the outside. He opened it and pulled out a road map, the kind you would find in any gas station.  
"General, I don't want to do it either, but I think we're out of options," Jack continued. Hammond handed him the map. "I think an option just presented itself," he said. Puzzled, Jack took the piece of paper and looked at it. One area of the map was circled in black ink and the words 'They're here' scrawled beside it. "What?" Daniel asked. Jack handed him the map.  
"Airman, did anyone see who left this"  
"No sir. It just showed up. We never saw a thing. That's why I brought it straight down," she said, fervently hoping she'd made the right decision.  
"I see. Thank you," Hammond said, dismissing the woman. "Do you think this is for real?" Daniel asked.  
"It could be a trap," Teal'c stated.  
"Well if we go in knowing it's a trap then it isn't much of one," Jack said, his tone telling them he was going regardless of anyone's opinion. "Check it out," Hammond ordered, "Do you want some help"  
"No offense sir, but I think we'll handle this ourselves," Jack said. Hammond read the unspoken message that Jack couldn't think of anyone he'd trust enough to bring along right now. "I understand," Hammond replied. "Check out a radio. Keep me advised," he ordered. Jack nodded as he, Daniel and Teal'c quickly left the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam dashed up the stairs two at a time. She stopped at the top, surveying the room. "What the hell did you do that for?" Sara demanded angrily.  
"Come on," Sam urged, spying the kitchen and it's outside door. "NO!" Sara declared, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why you killed him"  
"I didn't kill him," Sam said, "Look, if they think he helped us he's as good as dead. Wounded he might stand a chance"  
"That doesn't make any sense," Sara said, shaking her head. "We don't have time for this. He said more were coming. We need to get out of here," Sam said. She shoved one of the pistols into the small of her back then checked the other. She clicked the safety on and handed it to Sara. "Know how to use this"  
Sara nodded. "Yeah," she said as she took the weapon, popped and checked the clip and also shoved it into her back. "With Jack as a husband, I got lessons on our honeymoon"  
Seeing a couple of bottles of water on the counter, Sam picked them up and tossed one to Sara. "Wonder of there's a phone?" Sara said as she slowly walked into the living room while Sam closed the trap door. She didn't lock it in case their savior was wrong and no one else was coming. She wasn't going to lock him in to die. "That would be way too convenient," Sam said as she joined Sara in her search of the living room. Both women paused in their search at the sound of tires crunching on gravel.  
"Time to go?" Sara asked rhetorically.  
"Time to go," Sam confirmed as they hurried back to the kitchen and out the back door, careful to close it behind them. They dashed across the small yard and slipped into the surrounding forest, grateful that the gathering darkness would help conceal them. "Hang on a minute," Sam whispered a few minutes later, digging in her pocket.  
"What?" Sara asked, panting a bit.  
"Breadcrumbs," Sam said, pulling out the small bag and opening one of the boxes inside. She retrieved one of her new hoops and hung it from a branch. "The colonel knows these are mine. If he shows up he'll know which way we went," Sam explained, shoving the remaining earring into its box and returning them to her pocket. "We need to get some distance while we still have some light left then find a place to hide for the night," Sam said as she resumed her flight into the woods, Sara hot on her heels.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sir, they got away"  
"What?" Bert asked as he turned on the light beside his bed. It was nearly midnight. "They killed one of the men, injured another while Mac was picking up the team," his man reported. "They apparently escaped into the woods"  
"Find and kill them both," Bert snarled, seeing his well laid plans unraveling before his eyes.  
"Yes sir," the man answered as he broke the connection.  
"I told you this would not work"  
"Yes it will. O'Neill has no idea they've escaped. He'll still do as he's told"  
"If you believe that you are a greater fool than I thought you to be."

XXXXXXXXXX

The four men watched the van leave, carrying their fallen comrade and the injured man back to the city. They consulted briefly and split into two pairs. Each man slipped on his bulky night-vision goggles. Immediately the piercing blackness was transformed into a green-hued landscape dotted with the white forms of the animals that made the forest their home. It wouldn't be long now. Either their quarry was stumbling blindly in the darkness or had hunkered down for the night. Regardless, they would be easy prey.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c crept through the pre-dawn woods surrounding the cabin, their legs getting wet with dew. Though they'd left Cheyenne mountain almost immediately after receiving the map, it still took them several hours to reach the remote location. The cabin was perched on the top of a large hill, about 15 miles outside of Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, the nature of mountain roads meant the drive was actually closer to 30 miles of narrow, twisting roads. They'd parked the hum vee Jack had checked out of the motor pool about 3 miles down the road and hiked in, hoping to remain unnoticed. If the kidnappers were indeed in the cabin, they would be able to kill both women before they could be liberated.  
Jack laid on the ground, using the underbrush to hide him. He pulled out his binoculars and studied the structure. It was a medium sized building containing maybe three rooms. Ragged curtains hung limply in the two front windows, preventing Jack from seeing what was inside. There were no power or phone lines that he could see.  
He looked over at Teal'c, who shook his head, signaling he saw no obvious signs of danger. Jack motioned for Teal'c to make his way to the back. The Jaffa nodded and Jack saw him disappear into the under brush.  
While giving the man a few minutes to get into position, Jack eased over to Daniel. "Don't tell me to stay back, because I won't," Daniel whispered harshly, steel in his voice. "I wasn't going to," Jack lied. "Just be careful"  
Daniel nodded then pulled out the pistol he'd checked out from the armory. At Jack's signal, they moved carefully across the small stretch of grass surrounding the cabin. They slowly entered it and swept the three rooms with the precision and practice of experience. Upon entering the kitchen they both caught sight of the trap door. Jack felt a wave of dread sweep through him as he saw the discarded padlock lying neglected on the floor. He took a deep, fortifying breath and slowly pulled the door open. He leaned over and shined his flashlight around, looking for...anything.  
Seeing and sensing nothing, Jack slowly walked down the stairs, Daniel on his heels. Once they reached the bottom, Daniel walked around, searching the room. It didn't take him long. He picked up the discarded MRE wrappers and empty water bottles and carried them back to where Jack was kneeling. "Two blankets and evidence of two meals," Daniel reported hopefully.  
Jack looked up at him, "Yeah," he replied distractedly.  
"What Jack"  
"We can keep up the trend. Two pools of blood," Jack said quietly, pointing out the two dark patches in the dirt, still damp. Daniel sat on the step as Jack regained his feet. "We don't know it's them"  
"Right," Jack muttered, disbelief in his voice. Daniel looked at his feet, not sure what to say. His eyes caught a stain on the wood. "Jack"  
"What"  
"Look," Daniel said, pointing at the stain,  
Jack leaned closer. "So? It's more blood"  
"It's on the steps. maybe they're just wounded and got out"  
"Maybe," Jack said, unconvinced.  
"O'Neill"  
"Down here Teal'c," Jack called. The Jaffa found the trap door and walked down the stairs. "Find anything"  
"Yes. I have found evidence of several people leaving this place and fleeing into the woods"  
"Really?" Daniel asked hopefully. "See, maybe they got out," he said to Jack.  
"Daniel, the amount of blood that's here...if they did get out they won't last long. Not without medical attention"  
"I believe DanielJackson is correct. Two of the foot prints were smaller in size, suggesting females," Teal'c said. "And I found this hanging from a branch approximately 10 meters into the woods," he reported holding up a small item and handing it to O'Neill.  
The colonel took the item and studied it. "YES!" he exclaimed as he tossed it into the air, catching it again. "Jack what?" Daniel asked, confused by his friend's sudden show of enthusiasm. Jack held up the silver earring. Daniel looked at the dolphin decorated hoop. "I don't get it"  
"This is Carter's. She had it with her the night she was snatched. I'll bet you a week's worth of mineral surveys they did get out of here and this is her way of telling us which way they went"  
"That would be a logical conclusion. I found the item in a north easterly direction. If Major Carter and Sara O'Neill were indeed fleeing they would head towards the city"  
"Any idea how long ago?" Daniel asked, getting to his feet. "Perhaps 6 - 8 hours," Teal'c said, "and they were pursued by at least four individuals"  
"Let's not waste anymore time," Jack said resolutely, tucking the earring into his pocket as the three men climbed out of the basement and left the house, Teal'c leading the way.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wait, we have to stop," Sara gasped.  
Sam turned to her companion, barely able to make out much more then her pale face in the moonlight. "Just a bit more," Sam pleaded, "they won't be far behind us. There's some rocks ahead and I think I hear a stream. It'll give us cover"  
Sara nodded and struggled to keep up with the major.

"Down here," Sam said, leading Sara toward the creek bed. Sara followed her as she slid down the deep bank. She walked parallel to the water as if searching for something.  
"What are you looking for"  
"Here," Sam said, stepping towards the bank, finding her way more by touch than by sight. Sara followed her and bit back a scream as she felt something brush her face. "Ssh. It's just roots. The water's carved out a bit of a cave. We should be safe here," Sam whispered, sitting down on the ground, grateful it wasn't wet. They were actually lucky. If it hadn't have been for the sparse snows last winter the stream would have been much higher with show melt.  
"We should have grabbed the blankets," Sara whispered, buttoning up her jeans jacket all the way. Now that they weren't running, their bodies were cooling. "I know," Sam sighed as she saw Sara shove her hands into her pockets. Sam also zipped her jacket up all the way. "If we didn't want to advertise, we could start a fire," she said fatalistically.  
Both women huddled together in their make-shift shelter, serenaded by the rushing water. Sam knew the shallow cave was their best chance at shelter but she cursed the sound of the water that could be hiding any noises their pursuers might be making. She held up her left hand, trying to catch a stray beam of moonlight on the dial. 0200. Sam figured dawn was about 4 or 5 hours away. Hearing a loud rustling sound, she reached back and eased the pistol out of her sweaty back. "What?" Sara whispered harshly, also reaching for her gun.  
"Just heard something," Sam whispered as she strained her eyes trying to make the darkness reveal the source of the noise. She heard Sara gasp and she turned to see what she saw.  
Sara raised a trembling hand and silently pointed to a shape by the water. Both women watched in amazement as a mountain lion calmly lapped up water less than 20 feet away. "Great," Sara breathed, "if we don't get shot we'll end up as cat food."

Despite the chill dampness of the early morning, Sam found herself fighting sleep. As she reached for the bottle and took a tiny sip of water she thought longingly of the stream. The water would be cold, maybe 40 degrees or so, and judging by the rocky bed it coursed through, crystal clear. It was what you couldn't see she was worried about. Even mountain water was often contaminated with parasites or bacteria that could make them sick. Of course, soon they might have no choice. She guessed they were maybe 5 miles from their former prison. And, judging by the sight of Pikes Peak in the distance, she guessed they had at least 15 more miles to go until they reached civilization. Fifteen miles as the crow flies, which in this extremely rough terrain translated to at least double that. And the 12 ounces of so each of them had left of their water would run out long before that. Even now Sam could feel the tell tale signs of dehydration and lack of food in her body. She was sure Sara was feeling the same. Their last meal had been over 18 hours ago and, unless they got extremely lucky, their next could be days away. Sam knew she didn't know enough about the local flora to start looking for berries or roots. Besides, foraging was out of the question as long as their hunting party was still out there.  
Seeing the sky begin to brighten, Sam reached over to Sara who was staring sightlessly across the water. "We should go," she said. Sara nodded and they both unfolded themselves from their shelter. Sam reached into her pocket and pulled out a small round object. She held it in her hands, studying it intently.  
"What's that?" Sara asked, arching her back to loosen the kinks. "Compass. Colorado Springs is that way," she said, pointing across the stream. "You didn't have this before," Sara said as she picked the item out of Sam's hands. She turned it over and was surprised to see the Marine Corps emblem on the back of it. "The third guy, this is what he gave to me after telling us which way to go"  
"If this is his, it narrows down who could be behind this," Sara said.  
Sam shrugged as she took the compass back. "There are thousands of marines," she said. "Not to mention the fact you can pick up one of these at a pawn shop or army surplus store," she dismissed Sara's thought.  
"You're right. You said the Springs were that way"  
"Yeah," Sam confirmed, "We need to find a way across this stream." They both looked at the wide expanse of roiling water. It looked too deep to wade and running too fast to even think about swimming across. "Let's go down stream...see if we can find some rocks or some way across."

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam and Sara followed the stream, trying to stay as close to the bank as possible to hopefully remain unseen. Sam shot occasional glances at the water. As it flowed down the mountain, it was getting wider as more and more brooks joined with it. She was afraid they may have lost their chance to get across hours ago. Sara clutched at Sam's arm. "Let's take five," she suggested. Sam agreed and they gratefully sat down, giving their trembling legs a break. Sara twisted the cap of her water bottle off with grimy, scratched hands and drank the last few ounces. "We need water," she stated. "I know," Sam replied, "I just wish I knew if that water was safe," she said, pointing at the rushing stream. "Safer than passing out and getting killed by our friends or ending up dinner for the cat," Sara said wryly. Sam thought for a second, weighing their options, Sara was right. They wouldn't make it much longer without water. "You're right," she said as she drained her bottle and started to get to her feet.  
"No. I'll go," Sara said as she shrugged off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. "Fine with me," Sam agreed as she handed the woman her bottle. She watched Sara walk the fifteen feet or so to the water's edge and kneel down to fill the bottles. Once full, Sara set them beside her on the rocky bank and bent over to splash some of the cool water on her face and neck. Deciding Sara definitely had a good idea, Sam started to get to her feet to join her. Suddenly Sara let out a startled cry as the sharp crack of a gunshot shattered the peaceful stillness of the woods, silencing the birds. Sam rolled to her stomach, pulling out her weapon. As the shot echoed through the hills, she slowly raised her head and saw Sara crumpled on the ground. Sam saw a black clad figure walking slowly out of the trees, his rifle held at the ready. Sam looked around, trying to find the second person she was sure was out there. She didn't want to reveal her position but she couldn't let him get any closer to the helpless woman. Sam carefully took aim and fired. He fell to the ground, his finger reflexively squeezing the trigger, a volley of bullets flying through the air. Sam instinctively ducked her head as some of the wild shots struck the trees above her.  
Fighting to control her frantic breathing, she forced herself to stay still. After about five minutes passed with no sign of pursuit, she slowly got to her feet and started towards Sara, afraid of what she might find. She made it about 10 feet into the open when she froze at the all too familiar sound of a rifle being cocked.  
"Freeze or you'll end up like your friend," she heard a quiet voice say, tinged with a bit of a southern drawl. Sam slowly turned towards the voice, squinting her eyes against the afternoon sun. "Put down the gun," he ordered. Sam slowly bent over and laid the pistol on the rocks as he clicked his radio. "This is team 1. Target acquired," he said, then nodded as he listened to the reply. "Yes sir," he answered. Seeing his captive subdued he stepped forward, raised his left hand and dealt Sam a vicious back hand that sent her crashing to the rocky ground. She laid there for a second, fighting to stay conscious until he grabbed her by her hair, pulling her to her feet. "That's for Michael, bitch," he snarled as he made his way towards the two bodies lying motionless on the ground. Still dazed, Sam stumbled and tripped over the rough ground, earning her a few more cruel yanks with each step. Not able to see the ground, she tripped over a large stone, losing her balance and pulling her captor with her. As she crashed to her side she felt something brush her arm. She instinctively reached out for it and was surprised to feel the stock of her captor's rifle in her grasp. She tightened her grip on the item and used all her strength to drive it into his ribs. She heard his grunt of pain and felt him releasing her hair and grab for her neck. She drove the rifle back again, this time hearing the satisfying crunch and a strange gurgle from the man. He went limp and fell on her, pushing her back to the ground. She frantically rolled him off her and scrambled to her feet, spinning the rifle around to take aim at her attacker.  
Breathing hard it took her a few seconds to realize he was dead, his face covered with blood and sightless blue eyes still showing his surprise. Her last punch had landed on the bridge of his nose, sending a piece of bone directly into his brain, killing him instantly. Sam paused, the adrenaline fading enough for her to realize what she'd just done. She looked quizzically at the rifle in her hands, horrified to see blood dripping off the butt of the weapon. Repulsed, she let the machine go, the clatter it made on the rocks seemed as loud as the gunshots had been. She stared at the tiny flecks of blood on her hands. His blood.  
She felt a hand on her back and spun with a short scream, raising her hands to defend herself. "It's OK. It's OK," Sara said, raising one blood covered hand while the other remained pressed to her side. "Sara, oh my God. Are you all right?" Sam asked, concern for her friend allowing her to push the horror aside, for now.  
"Sorta," she replied weakly as she weaved a bit. Sam stepped forward and helped Sara sit down. "How bad"  
"I think he just winged me," Sara said painfully.  
"Let me see," Sam said as she gently pushed Sara's shirt up. Right along her ribs was a furrow, maybe half an inch deep and six inches long. The blood it was oozing trickled down Sara's side like a tiny crimson waterfall, staining her jeans a dark, reddish-black.  
"Just a graze," Sam reassured Sara as she helped her sit down. "Let me see if these guys have any medical supplies." Sara nodded as Sam walked back to her victim. She retrieved her pistol and forced herself not to flinch as she impersonally searched his pockets. She found a small package of 4x4's and a roll of tape in his left thigh pocket, along with a tiny, military issued tube of antibiotic cream. She turned back to Sara, a triumphant grin in her face. "Let's get you patched up, then we need to get moving," she said as she knelt back at Sara's side and began to care for the wound.  
"Why?" Sara gasped, as she flinched when Sam hit a particularly sore spot.  
"Why what"  
"Why keep going? They're dead. Why don't we just wait here for rescue"  
"Because I don't think these two were alone," Sam said evenly, concentrating on her task.  
"What makes you say that?" Sara asked as Sam sat back on her heels, using the last 4x4 to wipe the blood off her hands.  
"He called someone. We need to get away from here," Sam insisted. "You going to be OK"  
Sara nodded resolutely. "I'll be fine." Sam got up and pulled Sara to her feet. The women continued their flight, stopping long enough to wash the blood off their hands and pick up the water bottles.

XXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c held up his hand, signaling a stop.  
"What..." Jack started then stopped as he too heard the distant crack of a gun. Teal'c had successfully tracked Sara, Sam and their pursuers for the past several hours. They were following a stream flowing down the mountain. All three men didn't bother to hide their relief when the Jaffa showed them the shallow area where the two women had presumably spent the night. They clung to every sign that their friends were alive like drowning men clung to life preservers. "Hunters?" Daniel asked as the staccato report of automatic weapons fire rang through the wilderness.  
"Not using that," Jack said quietly as he looked to Teal'c who was concentrating intensely.  
"That way," he reported, indicating downstream. "Perhaps two miles"  
Jack nodded. "Let's pick up the pace"  
All three moved a bit faster each wishing they had a bit more armament than their pistols.  
Unknown to them, two other people also heard the shots.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam looked over at Sara. She was breathing more heavily than normal and holding her side tightly. Sam could see signs that the blood was beginning to seep through the bandages. She didn't think Sara was in danger of bleeding out...but any loss of blood in their already weakened condition wasn't good. "Let's sit," Sam suggested, motioning towards a fallen log. Sara sank down gratefully. "Maybe you should go on...I'm just slowing you down," Sara said quietly.  
"Oh no. The colonel wouldn't leave me behind," Sam stated resolutely. "Anyway, you owe me dinner remember"  
"OK," Sara said. As Sam looked at her she noticed the other woman was hugging her arms as if she were cold. Sam remembered Sara's jacket had been left behind when they were attacked. Sam shrugged off her leather jacket and handed it to Sara. "No. You'll need it," Sara protested.  
"Are you kidding me? I'm sweating like a pig in this thing," Sam lied. Sara gratefully stuck her arms in the sleeves. "You ready to go on?" Sam asked. Sara nodded and the two women got to their feet and continued their hike.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack looked up, following Teal'c's arm as the Jaffa pointed out a circling figure. "O'Neill, is that not one of your carrion birds"  
"Yeah," Jack replied guessing the bird was circling just a few hundred yards ahead. "We should be cautious in our approach"  
They spread out a bit, not that the thin line of trees in the riverbed allowed them much room to spread out. Seeing the form on the ground, Teal'c held up his arm and dropped to one knee. Jack and Daniel drew equal with him as he pointed out two forms lying on the rocks. Hearing the trilling of birds, Jack presumed no one else was in the area. They slowly made their way forward to examine the bodies. Jack checked the near corpse as Teal'c moved to check the other. Daniel took a quick look at the man's ruined face and quickly turned away, searching the area. Teal'c returned to Jack's side. "He has been shot," he reported, "and I found evidence of an injured person. The blood is fresh, it has not completely dried. And we are not the first people here. I found evidence of at least two more individuals." Jack rolled the man over, not wanting to keep looking at the corpse. "Well, no one shot him. Someone bashed his face in," Jack said as he stood back up, motioning towards the discarded rifle. "Probably with that"  
"Perhaps they fought amongst themselves?" Teal'c suggested weakly.  
"Not if you found signs of a third casualty. Once he went down, this guy didn't get back up"  
"Jack!" Daniel called as he trotted towards them, holding something in his hands. Jack looked up as he drew near. "I found this back in the brush"  
Jack examined the item and recognized it. "It's Sara's," he said quietly.  
"Well this is good. They were alive just a few hours ago," Daniel said hopefully. Jack and Teal'c exchanged glances. Jack nodded his head toward Teal'c. "There's signs of a third victim"  
Daniel's face fell. "Then I guess we better hurry then," he said.  
They continued downstream, moving as quickly as caution would allow.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam and Sara rounded a bend in the riverbed. Sara paused for a second. "I knew it," she said.  
"What"  
"I thought I knew where we were. I used to hike around here. There's a foot bridge about half a mile up. It'll lead to a ranger station about a mile down the trail"  
"You're sure"  
Sara nodded. "Positive"  
"Sweet," Sam quipped. Sara shot her a look. "You've been hanging around Jack too long"  
Sam shrugged and grinned. "If you ever tell him I said that"  
"Come on," Sara said, "We could be home in time for dinner."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Got them," the man said, handing his binoculars to his partner. The second man took a look, finding the two women walking about a mile ahead. He handed the binoculars back and hefted his rifle, finding Sam and Sara in his sights.  
"No," the first man said, pushing the rifle down.  
"We could finish this now," he protested.  
"No," his commander repeated, "They've killed three of my men, almost killed Bob. It's personal"  
The second man shrugged and clicked the safety on his weapon. He didn't have to agree, he just had to do what he was told. "We better get going then"  
They both jogged towards their quarry.

XXXXXXXXXX

"There it is," Sara said, pointing at the narrow pedestrian bridge, perhaps 3 feet wide, arching gracefully over the river. It was built on a particularly high part of the bank, the water maybe 20 feet below to allow the water to rise with the show melt and rain storms while keeping the bridge high and dry from both water and debris. Immediately down stream, the river bed made a sharp hair pin turn and years of erosion meant the rocky banks were extremely high.  
They left the cover of the brush and approached the bridge. Sam heard a loud rustle behind her and dragged Sara to the ground as she saw a figure stepping out of the underbrush. She pushed Sara and herself behind the meager cover of a pillar anchoring the bridge and pulled her pistol as bullets ricocheted off the rocks where they had just been. Sam returned fire, squeezing off a couple of shots, mindful that their ammunition was extremely limited. She was satisfied to see the gunman fall to the ground as one of her rounds found its mark. In the ensuing silence, Sam took a second to pop the clip and see how many bullets she had left. Four. Probably not enough. If the man she'd just shot was following military protocol, he wasn't alone. There had to be another person out there. Making her decision in an instant, she shot a glance at her companion. "When I tell you to...get across the bridge...get us some help"  
"No," Sara said, not wanting to abandon her friend.  
"Yes," Sam insisted, "you know exactly where the station is and where we are. I have no idea. I can hold them off here"  
"No"  
"Sara, you're injured. And I stand a better chance to hold them off than you do. It's my job remember?" Sam stated coldly.  
Sara sighed. "OK," she said as she acknowledged Sam's logic. She pulled out her weapon and handed it to Sam. "You'll need this"  
Sam accepted it gratefully as she checked the clip. It was almost full. "There's a pen in the pocket, write down this number." Sara reached into the pocket and pulled out the pen and the flimsy piece of receipt paper. Sam recited a number and watched Sara write it down. "It's...work. Use my name...your name...the colonel's...ask for General Hammond. Don't take no for an answer. Tell them where we are." Sara nodded as she shoved the paper deep into the pocket. "When I start firing...run." "I'll be back," Sara promised. Sam turned to her and laid her hand on her arm. "Good luck. I'll see you soon." She turned and randomly picked an area and squeezed off the last four shots in her pistol. Sara clambered to her feet and took off across the bridge at a limping run. Sam's fears were confirmed as bullets began to strike the ground near Sam's hiding place, sending tiny chips of rock into the air. Sam grabbed the second pistol and returned fire, hoping to force the shooter to take cover, allowing Sara to escape. She heard the empty click and realized she'd fired all the rounds in the weapon. She looked behind her and saw Sara disappearing into the trees. Sam sat on the ground, resting her back against the pillar she had been using for cover. All she could do now was wait. She hoped the shooter was the patient type. If she was lucky he'd wait a few minutes before leaving his cover and approaching her. Every second she could buy for Sara increased the woman's chances of reaching the relative safety of the ranger's station.  
She heard the clatter of rocks and glanced around the pillar. He was coming toward her. Evidently he wasn't the patient type. Sam tightened the grip on her relatively useless pistol. The son of a bitch wasn't going to get her without a fight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daniel plodded along behind Jack and Teal'c. Since they found the bodies a couple miles back, they'd found no other signs. He didn't know if that was good or bad. Teal'c had admitted he had virtually no tracks to follow, just an occasional drop of blood. Even a few drops were too much for Daniel's comfort. He'd seen the look on Jack's face when they realized one of the wounded had to be Sam or Sara. The haunted look he'd worn for the last two days had etched itself deeper into his face. Daniel knew his friend would blame himself, convinced the whole thing was somehow his fault. They had to be alive. Jack couldn't deal with losing either one of them. Suddenly a series of gunshots again rang over the sound of the rushing water. All three men dropped down, Jack and Teal'c raising their weapons. "Even I know that was close," Daniel said softly, looking to Teal'c for confirmation. "It could not have been more than a mile ahead," Teal'c replied.  
"I'm sick of playing catch-up," Jack said as he got to his feet and began running forward.  
Daniel met Teal'c's gaze. "I'll be right behind you," Daniel said, knowing he couldn't keep up. Teal'c nodded and took off after Jack.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam heard the man come closer. She desperately looked around. Wouldn't it be nice for some convenient hiker to some walking down the trail. Heck, the guys could show up any time now. She'd almost welcome a Goa'uld attack, meteor storm...maybe the kitty could come back. She put her left hand on the ground to steady herself and felt sand. Sand. OK. She could use this. She dug her hand in, trying to clutch as many of the tiny grains as she could. A shadow fell across her. She looked up to find herself at the wrong end of a rifle. "Drop it," he ordered. She took it to mean the ammo-less pistol in her right hand. Sam slowly lobbed the pistol a few feet away. "Get up," he said, moving back a bit. Evidently he'd learned it wasn't a good thing to get too close to her. Sam eased herself to her feet. "Where's your friend"  
Sam shrugged. "She didn't make it. She's back there," Sam said, jerking her head upstream, back they way they'd come. "Bull shit. She was here just a minute ago. Where is she?" he repeated harshly, motioning with his rifle, the tone of his voice telling Sam his patience was running out. "She went for a swim. Wanna join her?" Sam understood the colonel's predilection for sarcastic quips. Given the choice between bravado or terror, she'd go for bravado.  
He quickly stepped forward and roughly grabbed her arm. "Fine, be a smart ass. One hostage is as good as another," he said as he pulled her toward him, making her stumble a bit. "I'd just as soon shoot you as let you live. It's up to you," he said as he started back upstream, pulling her behind him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Sam heard a familiar voice yell. She looked up and saw Jack and Teal'c approaching. Thank you God, the calvary had arrived. Taking advantage of the man's second of inattention, Sam grabbed the barrel of his rifle and twisted it, forcing him to let go with a yell of pain as his finger was wrenched in the trigger guard, tearing the skin. However, instead of releasing her, he pulled her toward him, wrapping his left arm around her throat and using her as a shield. "Let her go and I'll let you live," Jack said coldly in a tone Sam had only heard him use once or twice before. It was the tone of voice he usually reserved for when he spoke of Hathor or Apophis. The colonel was pissed. Good. Her assailant didn't stand a chance. Sam saw Teal'c slowly step away from Jack, the two of them spreading out, trying to flank him. Her captor saw it too. He stepped back, towards the bridge, pulling Sam behind him. She tried to drag her feet to slow him down. He responded by tightening the grip on her throat, cutting off her air, and reaching to his belt to pull his knife from its sheath. "Fight me and I'll slit your throat," he whispered softly. Feeling the cold blade pressing against her skin, his warm blood dripping down her neck, she picked up her feet and let him drag her. Jack moved steadily forward, his pistol aimed unwaveringly at them as Sam brought up her right hand and tried to pull the knife away from her throat. As he stepped onto and started across the bridge, Sam knew she couldn't let him get to the other side. If he got into the woods there, he'd be able to elude them. She looked for and met the colonel's eyes. She surreptitiously turned her left fist towards him, showing him the sand in her grasp. She saw his tiny nod as he reached the base of the span. She closed her eyes and brought up her left hand and threw the sand in her captor's face. Startled he stepped back, dropping the knife to claw at his eyes. Sam started to run forward as his left hand grabbed the neck of her shirt. He staggered back, lost his balance and fell off the span, pulling Sam after him into the raging water below. She let out a small scream as she felt herself fall. She hit the water hard, the combination of near freezing water and the force of the fall forcing what air she had left in her lungs out as the current pulled her below the surface.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daniel arrived just as Jack tossed the radio at Teal'c and dashed up the bridge. "Teal'c, downstream," he ordered as he jumped into the water. Daniel saw Teal'c deftly catch the small device and take off at a run. 'What'd he miss now?' he asked himself as he followed Teal'c.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack fought to keep his head above water as he searched for Sam. Seeing a flash of red to his left, he tried to swim that way. His numb fingers brushed by something that didn't feel like debris and he grabbed hold. He pulled the limp form of Sam close to him and looked for a way to get out of the river. He could feel his body starting to shut down as its temperature cooled. Damn the water was cold. What the hell is it with him and Carter and hypothermia anyway? He kicked with legs that felt like dead weight, trying to get closer to the left bank and out of the current. "O'Neill." Jack looked up and saw Teal'c standing in the lee of a huge bolder, his strong arm outstretched. Kicking desperately Jack struggled to rendezvous with Teal'c. He brushed by the boulder, scraping his shoulder and felt the Jaffa's large hand grab his in a death grip. Teal'c pulled Jack and Sam out of the current and towards the shore. He hauled his two friends onto the bank much like a fisherman would drag a large catch out of the unforgiving water. Jack's legs collapsed, sending him and Sam to the ground. Immediately Daniel reached for Sam, turning her on her back.  
Jack gasped for air as he saw Daniel tilt Sam's head back and breathe into her mouth. Jack saw her chest rise but there was no response. Daniel breathed again and Jack felt his heart sink when Sam still didn't move. "Come on Carter," Jack urged desperately. Daniel breathed into Sam again and was rewarded by a harsh cough and a rush of water. He immediately rolled her to her side so she could expel the water without breathing it in again. Jack slumped in relief. Coughing had never sounded so good. Jack felt Teal'c drape his jacket on his shoulders as Daniel helped Sam sit up. "You guys took long enough," she gasped, still coughing a bit. Jack shrugged into Teal'c's jacket as Daniel wrapped Sam in his. "Danny saw some rocks..." Jack quipped.  
He was rewarded with a weak glare as she pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. "Sam, where's Sara?" he asked, afraid of her answer. "She went over the bridge. There's a ranger station down the trail. She's calling for help"  
"Sweet," Jack said, relief in his voice. "Can you walk"  
Sam nodded. "Think so." Daniel got to his feet and held out his hands to help Sam up as Teal'c did the same for Jack. Daniel heard Sam gasp and tighten her grip on his hand as she shifted her weight off her right leg and leaned more heavily on him. He looked down and saw that her jeans were torn around her right calf and the already soaked material was dark with blood. "Sam, your leg"  
"Yeah, I just noticed that," she said, biting her lip.  
Jack knelt down and checked the wound. "Looks like you had a close encounter with a rock or something. I think you're gonna need some stitches," he stated.  
"Great," Sam said, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. "Ya know, if you wanted to go white water rafting I know this guy who rents rafts." Sam shot him another harsh glare. "Teal'c," Jack said, getting back up and indicating the Jaffa should pick her up.  
"Colonel, I can make it," Sam protested, wishing her voice wasn't so shaky.  
"Carter, we don't know if your swimming buddy has anymore friends out here. We need to catch up with Sara." Letting her pride take a backseat to reason, Sam nodded. Teal'c picked her up in his arms. "O'Neill, what about the other man?" he asked, referring to the third person who went into the water. "If he doesn't wash up somewhere, maybe they'll find him at Hoover," Jack said, "Frankly I could care less"  
They were about 20 feet upstream when Jack's radio crackled into life. "Hammond to O'Neill"  
Sending the rest a quizzical look, Jack helped himself to the radio Teal'c had put in the pocket of the jacket Jack was now wearing. "O'Neill here"  
"Colonel, I just got a phone call from Sara. She's safe at a ranger station." Jack closed his eyes in a second of thankful prayer. "I read you sir. We've got Carter," he reported happily, looking at the dripping major who was slowly losing a battle with Morpheus. "Any chance you could scare us up a chopper? Carter needs some medical attention"  
"There's already one on the way for Sara. It has orders to take her to the Air Force Academy Hospital, Dr. Fraiser's assigned there today. I'll instruct the pilot to wait for you"  
"Thank you sir. General, we're going to need a little clean-up," Jack said, meaning the three, possibly four bodies they'd seen or knew would show up eventually. "Understood," Hammond replied. "Contact me when you can use the secure frequency in the chopper"  
"Yes sir," Jack replied. He turned to Sam who was more asleep than awake. "Sam"  
"Huh?" she said, forcing her eyes open.  
"How bad was Sara hurt"  
"Oh. A bullet grazed her side. A little bloody but not too bad," she reported. "Good," Jack said as he again started walking back to the bridge. Sam closed her eyes and fought the urge to try to snuggle closer to Teal'c. He radiated an immense amount of body heat. The rational part of her mind told her she should try and remain awake while the rest of her deduced she was just too darned tired to be rational. Teal'c felt Sam relax in his arms as they reached the bridge. He looked down and saw her closed eyes and felt her even breathing. Despite the fact that she was injured and exhausted he was gratified that his team mate trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bert Samuels answered the summons and walked into the general's plush office. He knew what was to come. His plan had failed and it was now time to pay the price. He wasn't worried. The general couldn't do much to him. Not without making himself vulnerable. Bert knew too many secrets to be expendable.  
"Bert, have a seat," the general said congenially. Yes he was angry. The more incensed the general was, the nicer he acted. "I assume your plan did not come to fruition," he said as he leaned back in his leather chair.  
"No. Regrettably O'Neill has outsmarted us yet again"  
The general slowly shook his distinguished head. "Not 'us' Bert. 'You.' From the beginning I made it clear I had no part in this scheme of yours," the general said, making his position known. "Word has come down from the President himself. NO ONE at the SGC is to suffer so much as a tax audit. If he even hears rumors of any actions against ANYONE, they will be handled with EXTREME prejudice," the general declared.  
"Of course sir," Bert agreed amicably. "However, is this not the same president whose term of office ends in mere months"  
Bert was rewarded with a slight sly smile from his boss. "The very same."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack navigated through the maze of clean white hallways that made up the Air Force Academy Hospital. It was now Tuesday evening and he had heard on the radio Senator Kinsey was just starting his speech at the academy down the road, presumably totally ignorant about how close he'd come to being dead. After dropping Sam and Sara off at the hospital in the capable hands of Dr. Fraiser and under the watchful eyes of Daniel and Teal'c, Jack had jumped into the waiting helicopter and returned to Cheyenne Mountain.  
He grabbed a too quick shower and exchanged his wet fatigues for clean dry ones. Then he led a handful of men back up the mountain and retrieved the bodies which were now in the SGC morgue. A thorough examination of the corpses revealed absolutely nothing other than how they'd died. Even the labels of their clothing had been removed. They took fingerprints and DNA samples, but both Hammond and Jack knew they'd probably never identify the men. Chances are if any of them had family, they'd never know how the men died, or even that they had died. The three men and the fourth who had yet to be found were merely pawns in some jerk's game. Expendable pawns to be used and discarded like the plastic silverware one got at a fast food restaurant or those little bars of soap hotels dispense so freely. Jack sat and listened in as Hammond called the President and received the man's promise that whoever was behind the kidnapping wasn't a member of the Joint Chiefs or even known of by them. Both George and Jack shared silent looks of disbelief. With as many of the loose ends tied up that they could, Jack received permission from General Hammond to return to the hospital and check on his ex-wife and his friend. They'd received word from Janet that neither woman was severely injured, but Jack still needed to see it for himself. He visited Sara first, armed with some flowers he'd picked up at the gift shop, and was gratified to learn the wound on her side was the extent of her injuries, aside from a few bumps and bruises and a cut on her hand she'd received when she discovered the ranger station wasn't open and broke a window to gain access.  
He and Sara talked, and as heard more of their story, he realized just how involved the whole scheme was. He also discovered the lengths both she and Sam had gone to in order to survive. "Jack, look I'm fine," Sara insisted. He shook his head. "Sara, I know you. This is too easy. Where's the"  
"What? The demand for an explanation. Me pressing you for details, getting frustrated when you lie. You getting annoyed when I keep demanding what you can't give. We tried that before. I think we got divorced because of it," Sara ranted quietly.  
"Sara..." he started, then stopped as she put her hand on his arm. "This is all tied to your stargate thing isn't it"  
Jack sighed. "Yeah," he grudgingly admitted, wishing he could tell her all about it. "The same stargate that's helped turn a suicidal, bitter, hateful, cold-blooded SOB back into something...resembling the man I married 15 years ago?" Not knowing how to respond, Jack just raised his eyebrow at his ex-wife. "I think I can live without details," she said quietly. "Have you talked to Sam?" she asked, changing the subject. Jack shook his head. "I'm going there next"  
"You found the bodies?" He nodded. "I know she didn't want to, but she killed them. The one with...the face...I know what you...she does is violent but...I think it really freaked her out"  
"How"  
Sara shook her head. "I don't know...just the look on her face"  
"OK. I'll talk to her. You OK?" Sara nodded and smiled. "I'm fine," she repeated. Jack leaned in and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm glad you're all right." Sara hugged him back and they sat there for a second until Sara pulled back a bit. Jack gave her an appraising look, then let her go. "You want me to take you home in the morning?" he asked.  
"That would be good. Dad's out of town," Sara agreed.  
"Sweet. I'll see ya in the morning," he said as he turned to leave the room.  
"Jack." He stopped and turned back. "What ever you're doing...keep doing it, banish a few more of your demons, put a few more chinks in your armor." He nodded. "And don't be such a stranger. I've heard rumors that ex's can occasionally be friends."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack walked down the hall to Sam's room armed this time with a couple sandwiches, chips and sodas he'd gotten from the cafeteria. Flowers may work with Sara, but he couldn't exactly bring flowers to his 2IC. Now if Danny and Teal'c got the idea...that was different. Besides, unlike most women he'd known, Carter would appreciate food more than flowers. He stopped at the sight of Daniel and Teal'c sitting in chairs outside Sam's room, Daniel slumped down half-asleep and Teal'c...well Teal'c never slumped but even he looked a bit weary. "O'Neill," he said as Daniel perked up. "Jack," he muttered, pulling his glasses off the top of his head and settling them in place. "Everything OK?" Jack asked, wondering why they weren't in the room with their friend. "Yeah," Daniel said stretching, "I guess. You get everything taken care of"  
"Yep. How's Carter"  
"She woke up a little while ago. I think she's upset about something," Daniel reported, concern on his face. "Major Carter merely requested some privacy. I do not believe that equates with being upset." Seeing the food in Jack's hands, Daniel caught hold of Teal'c's arm. "Come on Teal'c, I'm starving. And since Jack didn't bring enough for all of us, we'll have to go get our own," he suggested astutely.  
"Thanks guys," Jack said as Daniel and Teal'c left, arguing slightly about where to go.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack pushed the door open and slowly stepped into the dim room. He was grateful to see Sam, like Sara, didn't have a roommate. Their conversation would go a lot better if they didn't have to watch what they said. Sam was sleeping, curled up on her left side, one arm tucked under the pillow. It was the same way she slept when they were off world. Course then she usually had her rifle or pistol tucked into her side. He winced at the sight of the painful bruise on her cheekbone as he set the food on the bed side table, tossed the jacket he'd gotten from Sara over a chair and pulled another chair to the side of her bed to wait for her to wake up.  
He sat there for about half an hour, comparing what he'd learned from Sara to what he'd discovered on his own, trying to piece it all together. Unfortunately, every question he answered, only brought up more questions.  
He heard Sam sigh and shift in the bed. Perhaps sensing the presence of another person in the room, he saw her eyes flutter open. "Hey," he said, sitting up. "Hey," she answered as she frowned and blinked to make her eyes focus. "How's Sara"  
"She's fine. Going home in the morning. How ya feeling"  
"OK," she replied as she sat up, grimacing a bit as she discovered various bruises. Jack handed her the remote and she pushed the button to raise the head of the bed. "Little sore. Won't be taking any long hikes for a few days"  
Jack snapped his fingers. "Damn. And I was so looking forward to the next UAV retrieval mission. You really gotta fix those things so they crash near the gate not on the other side of the planet," Jack quipped.  
"I'll get right on that one sir," Sam answered wryly.  
"Hungry?" Jack asked, "I snagged a couple sandwiches downstairs"  
Sam's face brightened. "Actually yeah. I don't know what they served for dinner but I'm sure it was only masquerading as food"  
"Sweet," Jack replied, "Turkey or roast beef"  
"Turkey," Sam replied.  
He handed her the sandwich, bag of chips and a bottle of diet Pepsi. As they ate, he filled her in on SG-6 & 11's run in with the Jaffa and told her about some funky...thing SG-5 brought back that was sitting in her lab, patiently waiting for her to come dissect it and figure out just what it was.  
Once they were done eating, he began to gently ask her about the events of the last 48 hours. She relayed to him nearly the exact same story as Sara. Nearly the same. He noticed the left out the part about wounding one man and killing three. "What about the third guy"  
"Third guy"  
"The one in the cellar who helped you two escape," Jack prodded. Sam was good at avoidance, he was better. "There was a third man," Sam admitted. "Colonel, when you found the cabin...did you find any...bodies"  
Jack shook his head. "No. Blood but no bodies"  
Sam looked relieved. "Good"  
"Carter, what the hell's going on? You're not going all Stockholm on me are you"  
"What?" Sam asked before she realized what he meant. Stockholm Syndrome, when a captive begins to sympathize with his or her captors. "No. It's just that"  
"That what"  
"Colonel, he knew me...us. He knew which of us was which and he didn't say anything"  
"So he had another motive," Jack dismissed. "I don't think so sir. He called me Jolinar. No one outside of the SGC would ever call me that," Sam insisted.  
"What? He's a freaking Tok'ra?" Jack asked, almost in horror.  
Sam shook her head. "No," she said certainly, "I...remember what we talked about when I drove you home? The question I asked you. About...them," she reminded, referring to their conversation regarding the traitors.  
"Yes," Jack answered cautiously. "I think...I think he was one of them," Sam said quietly.  
Jack took a sip of his soda and killed a few seconds gathering up the debris from their meal and dropping it into the trash can. "Ya know...they're locked up," he said. Sam shot him a skeptical look. "Carter, I honestly don't know who was behind all this." Jack sat back down and scratched his head. "I got in to see Maybourne. He says it wasn't him. And, call me crazy, I think I believe him"  
"So you don't know who instigated all this"  
Jack shook his head. "Nope. Probably never will." Sam nodded and took another drink of the soda.  
"Ya know...you did good out there," Jack said quietly.  
"Yeah," Sam said quietly as she took another sip of her drink and looked away. Jack got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "It was them or you. THEY put you in that situation. THEY didn't give you a choice"  
"I know...I just...I can still hear him..." she trailed off. "There was so much blood..." she said, convulsively rubbing her clean hands. "The one that wasn't shot?" Jack asked, pretty sure what she was talking about. "Yeah...he...I didn't mean to...I mean I just wanted to get away from him..." she stopped and took a deep breath.  
"I remember the first time I killed someone up close like that," Jack said quietly. "It was...hell I don't remember what the country's called now. Anyway we were infiltrating...this place. One of the guards...damned kid picked that night to break routine. He saw us...was going to yell...I was the closest...we couldn't risk him revealing our presence...so...anyway it took me a month or so not to see his face on every kid I met. You never totally forget it, but it does get better"  
Sam nodded, still looking away. Jack put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. Sam stiffened for a second, then relaxed. "I'm sorry you and Sara had to go through that. And I'm sorry you had to kill those guys. But I'm glad you did," Jack paused a second, flashing back to the memory of the nameless corpse probably still lying unclaimed in the morgue. "If I had to choose between you and Sara or some mercenary...you guys win hands down...I guess," he finished with a shrug.  
Sam snorted and pulled away. "You GUESS"  
"OK...OK...Hands down," Jack admitted playfully with a quirk of his eyebrows. "Just for that, the next time Daniel starts one of his lectures, you're on your own," Sam said with a smile, pulling out of Jack's embrace.  
"Thank you so much Carter," Jack said, getting off the bed. "Fraiser cutting you loose in the morning"  
"Yeah. Daniel's going to pick me up. I think my car's still at Sara's"  
"Oh," Jack snapped his fingers and picked Sam's jacket up off the chair where he'd left it earlier. He dug in the pocket, pulled out her keys and tossed them to her. "That should make it easier," he said.  
"I was hoping these would show up. I thought I'd have to get my landlord to let me in." Jack started emptying the pockets. "This got all bloody. I'll get it cleaned"  
"Sir, you don't have to do that"  
"Hey, I want to," Jack paused, pulling the earring box out. He reached into his fatigue pocket and retrieved the hoop she'd left behind. "Found something of yours"  
"Cool." Sam grinned. "I was hoping it would show up"  
"It was a good idea. Gave us somewhere to start." Jack frowned as he picked up the compass he'd tossed on the bed along with the rest of the contents of Sam's pockets. "Where'd you get this?" he asked, turning it over in his hands. "Our helper, the third man, he gave it to me." Jack nodded as he looked closer at the small object and saw the initials RFM engraved on it. "Any idea what this means?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Sam shook her head. "No idea," she said. Their gazes met, him seeing the lie in her eyes and her knowing he knew. "Like I told Sara, you could pick one up in almost any pawn shop"  
"Ah huh." Jack nodded, giving her the compass back. "I'm taking Sara home in the morning. If I know Danny and Teal'c, they're gonna want to hang at your place tomorrow. Unless you want me to tell them not to," he offered, letting the subject of the compass drop.  
"Nah. It's OK. I was thinking about re-arranging the furniture. I night take advantage of the free labor," Sam said, fighting a yawn. "I'll let you get some sleep," he said, picking up the jacket. "You gonna be OK"  
"Yeah, I'm OK. You can tell Daniel and Teal'c they can come back in. There's a perfectly good bed over there going to waste," Sam said, motioning towards the empty bed next to hers. "Daniel should feel right at home"  
Jack nodded and left the room, telling Daniel and Teal'c it was safe to enter again. 'First thing in the morning,' he told himself, 'I need to tell Hammond Makepeace is still alive.'

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Halfway across the country, Lt. Colonel Bert Samuels slept peacefully, his conscious mind quiet, allowing Zadok free reign. The symbiote cursed his choice of host. This human was an abysmal failure. Not that he'd had much of a choice as the time. Zadok was one two immature Goa'uld larvae who'd been incubating inside the Jaffa killed in Apophis' first attack on the SGC and had been left behind, given up for dead. His Jaffa dying and Zadok himself severely injured he turned his energies to survival. He had taken Samuels as a host even though he had been far too young and weak to control the man properly. He'd been forced to sit idly by while Samuels succeeded in furthering his career. An act which moved him closer to the country's base of power, but thousands of miles away from his goal...the Chaap'pai. His only way home. To avoid suspicion and detection, he allowed his host to perceive him only as a conscience, a voice of intuition instead of a controlling agent. He'd initially survived by being discrete. He'd contented himself with hiding and waiting. Waiting for the chance to leave this miserable rock and return home. A home he had only a fragment of a memory of. Now, here he was, two years later, no closer to his goal.  
Unable to gain access to the main Chaap'pai, which the Tau'ri guarded so fiercely, he had urged Samuels to align himself with Colonel Harry Maybourne, hoping to go through their 'beta gate'. But now the weasely little man's arrogance had outstripped his limited abilities and he'd been shut down, mere days before Samuels and Zadok had been due to leave Earth.  
Now he was trapped...again. Now he was back to being patient, forcing himself to bide his time, waiting for O'Neill and Hammond to make some mistake, do something wrong to allow his host access to Cheyenne Mountain again.  
'Soon,' he promised himself, 'Soon he would gain access to the Chaap'pai and go home'  
He'd waited for years...a few more months wouldn't matter.

XXfinXX 


	2. The Blond Duo

The Blond Duo

By

Denise

Sam ran her fingers through her hair, trying to push it into some sort of order. Maybe she should just go get it cut. It sure was easier to take care of when it was short but...well it was time for a change. It seemed every time things in her life got weird, she'd respond by changing her hair. It was an easy change to make after all.

After mom died, she'd gotten it cut off. Really short. At the time she'd told herself it was because it was easier to take care of. It was her mom who liked long hair anyway and she wasn't going to be around to braid it or...OK Sam, be honest with yourself. Your cut it off hoping if you looked a little less like mom maybe dad wouldn't avoid you so much. But it hadn't worked.

Over the years she'd grown it out, cut it off, finally using the Air Force regulations as a reason to keep it short. Face it; the military didn't have a lot of patience for an officer who had to go run do her hair before she could leave to bomb someone. And dealing with long hair off world...oh that would be a nightmare.

Though lately she had heard rumor of a pool starting up. Seems the people of the SGC were so curious about how long she'd let it grow and when she'd cut it, they were putting money down on it. Geez, dealing with the fate of the universe on a daily basis, you'd think they would have more important things to wonder about. Maybe she'd really throw them for a loop, go out and get it dyed bright Hathor red and shock the hell out of everyone. Or maybe she'd do it pink, like the Nox. Yeah, dye it pink and decorate it with leaves and branches.

She brought her hand to her mouth to smother a hated giggle as she imagined the look on everyone's faces if she came into work tomorrow with colored hair.

The colonel would just have to know about 'the hair'. Daniel? Oh Daniel would stutter out how nice it looked even if it looked horrible. Teal'c? That eyebrow would probably crawl right off his head. Though if he dared to say anything, she'd just remind him of that...thing on his chin. And the general? After the way SG-1 acted last week he'd probably have her committed to mental health. Heck it'd almost be worth it just to turn a few heads.

Oh God, the colonel's right. You need to get out of here, go check out the real world. You remember the one, where the only aliens are green card deficient individuals from across the border. The one where the Roswell Grays are still a myth.

When was the last time you went home? She asked herself. As she started to realize it was adding up to weeks instead of days she made her decision. She resolutely left the locker room, intent on reaching her lab, grabbing her keys and making her escape before something else happened.

She successfully reached her destination and dug in the drawer for her keys. Please God let my car start, she thought as she shut the drawer and began turning off her computers.

As she turned off the last one and started towards the door, the phone rang. She looked at the device with dread. The last time it had rang it had been Master Sergeant Davis informing her of an unauthorized off-world activation. And she still felt sick about the results of that.

She contemplated not answering it, then sighed as duty won out over her wishes. She tiredly picked up the receiver. "Carter," She said, grimacing as the irritation she felt crept into her voice. Hope it's not the general.

"Sam?" she heard, not quite recognizing the female voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes?"

"Hi. It's Sara," the woman said rather uncertainly.

"Ooh. Sara. Hi. How are you?" Sam asked, her voice warming as she recognized the voice of her CO's ex-wife.

"I'm fine. I heard you made it out ok too," she said referring to the injuries they both received when parties unknown in an effort to make the colonel assassinate Senator Kinsey a few weeks ago had kidnapped them.

"Few bumps and bruises. I got knocked around worse in basic training."

"Well I for one was sore for a week," Sara said wryly. "Actually I wasn't calling to compare scars. We aah…we never did have that dinner and …I know it's short notice but I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"

Sam thought for a second, remembering their conversation in the basement of that cabin. Sure they'd talked about dinner but she'd never really expected it to happen. Then again…why not? What did she have waiting at home anyway? Some dying plants and a frozen dinner. Maybe an old movie on cable? What the hell? The Colonel HAD ordered her to get a life. She was sure he hadn't meant with his ex but…"Sure Sara. That sounds great," Sam said, feeling a smile creep across her face.

"Fantastic. How about O'Malley's at 7?"

"Ooh…well, can we go somewhere else?"

"What? Did you guys get in a fight and get kicked out or something?" Sara asked, laughing a bit.

Sam flashed back to the …scuffle they'd had in the poolroom. Well they HADN'T been thrown out. Course they'd ran out the doors at near light speed but…prudence suggested O'Malley's was a place SG-1 should avoid for…oh a year or two should do it. "No. It's just…how about Zephyr's? They just opened one up here. I ate at one in DC and the food was pretty good," Sam suggested.

"Ok. I'm game. Seven still work?"

Sam glanced at her watch. 1500. She would have plenty of time to get home and change. "Yeah. Seven is great."

"Fantastic. I'll meet you there."

"He did what?" Sam asked, setting down her second margarita of the evening.

Sara took a quick sip of hers and laughed. "Playing Mr. Macho, he had to carry me over the threshold. What he didn't know was the floor had just been waxed. He hit it wrong, his feet flew out from under him and we went splat in the entryway. THAT'S how he messed up his knee," Sara said thoroughly enjoying the delighted look on Sam's face.

There was a tiny niggling part of her that reminded herself that the woman was under Jack's command and maybe it wasn't appropriate for her to be telling Sam such things, but she quickly dismissed it. She figured if Jack trusted the woman she could too. And it wasn't like she was going to tell her about the second time he strained his knee. All in the name of fun and games and page 73 of the Kama Sutra.

"He always told us it was an old hockey injury," Sam giggled, enjoying the image of how her CO really hurt himself.

"More like an old nookie injury. He just doesn't like to admit we spent our wedding night in the ER."

Sam laughed at her commanding officer, a man who had a bad habit of taking Goa'uld on single-handedly not wanting to admit how he really got his trick knee.

This was absolutely priceless. Premium ammunition for the next time he decided to tease her about her hair or her doohickeys.

"You're going to use this to embarrass him aren't you?"

Sam had the grace to look slightly abashed. "Well…"

"Good. Jack needs to be taken down a peg or two every once in a while. He's insufferable when he's cocky."

"Ya think?" Sam quipped, causing both women to dissolve into laughter, gaining them a few glances form the scattered patrons of the restaurant.

They'd been in the steak house a couple of hours enjoying a leisurely dinner and then lingering over drinks and sinfully chocolate deserts.

Zephyr's was a quiet place, just enough off the beaten path to avoid most of the noisy Saturday night crowds. It specialized more on good food than a trendy atmosphere.

They had chatted about various topics, discovering things in common. Sara's mother had also died early, but of cancer rather than a car crash. Because of Jack's career, Sara actually had lived on some of the bases Sam did growing up. Her career as a photographer fitting in well with her husband's rather transient life style.

"So," Sara's voice grew serious. "I don't suppose you guys ever found out who was behind our little adventure?" She asked quietly.

Sam looked around the restaurant relieved to note it was pretty much deserted, probably due to a mix of a rainy night and the lateness of the hour. "No. Nothing definite," she replied quietly, knowing full well the maze of secrets and lies may never be unraveled.

"Still. It has something to do with the stargate?" Sara pressed.

"Umm…what exactly do you mean?" Sam asked uneasily. Sara had never pressed her before…well really pressed her for information.

"Just what Jack told me. That this Stargate is a project you two work on. Something to do with astronomy and radar and NORAD. Although I still can't see Jack being content to spend his days under a mountain looking at radar screens and telemetry readings. The last I knew he still couldn't program his VCR. I mean he used to get so restless if he was stood down too long I'd invent things for him to fix. I swear he was only content if he was jetting off to the far corners of the world blowing stuff up."

"Maybe he's…gotten tired of dodging bullets. I know I'd be perfectly happy if no one ever shot at me again," Sam said truthfully.

Sara shot her an appraising look. "You were in Desert Storm weren't you?"

"Yeah. I logged a lot of hours in enemy airspace."

"What's it like?" Sara asked wanting an insight to a part of his life her husband had kept from her.

Sam opened her mouth to respond then stopped as a commotion caught her attention.

She turned her head to see two men by the bar. She looked at them appraisingly. Their body language was wrong. They seemed nervous, on edge.

She glanced around and realized she and Sara were the only patrons in the restaurant save a slightly drunk salesman and a young couple obviously on a date.

"Sam?" The tone of her voice told Sam Sara was getting the same vibes she was.

The manager stepped forward and said something Sam couldn't hear. Whatever it was the man didn't like it. He abruptly pushed the manager back and pulled a pistol out of his jacket.

"Down!" Sam whispered urgently as she heard Sara gasp in surprise. They both slid down so they were crouched in the tiny space under the booth. "Do you have a cell phone?" Sam asked, searching for options. For once she wished she carried her personal weapon. From the glance she'd had she knew the man had an automatic pistol so, assuming it was loaded, he had at least seven bullets he could use. More than enough to go around.

"Yeah," Sara whispered, pulling her purse from the seat and digging out the phone.

"Call 911."

Sara nodded. "What are you going to do?" she asked as she dialed.

Sam shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered honestly. There was a part of her that wanted badly to walk up to the creeps and pound on them. Then the rational part of her mind asserted itself and reminded her not only was she unarmed, it was 2-1 odds and there were five other people around. Any one of which could get killed by her grand standing.

"Oh my god," Sara whispered.

"What?" Sam brought her attention back to the situation at hand. She saw the robbers roughly rounding up the people.

"I recognize that man. He's one of the escaped convicts from Texas," she whispered, her face showing her horror.

Sam looked at her then back at the men. She'd heard about them. A pair of convicts had escaped from a Texas jail over a month ago. They'd been convicted on multiple counts of murder and rape. Total bad guys as the colonel would say.

They weren't wearing masks and were making no attempt to conceal their identity. Which meant they didn't care if they were identified.

She saw one of them push the young couple, causing them to stumble into each other. There was maliciousness, a cruelty in his face that told her he was more than capable of cold-blooded murder.

She saw that the men were herding their captives towards where Sam and Sara were hiding. A quick glance confirmed that the door to the kitchen was just a few feet away. They'd have to go right by them.

"What are you going to do?" Sara asked, seeing Sam tense. She too knew there was no way they would remain undetected where they were hiding.

Sam grimaced. "Something…crazy. Stay back."

"Sam…"

Sam silenced her with a wave of her hand as the two gunmen pushed their hostages past their booth.

As the one with the gun passed her, Sam snaked out her hand and pulled him off balance. He fell on his face with a cry, the gun skittering across the tiles. Sam dashed out to deal with the second man. Her plans came to a sudden stop when he pointed a pistol at her. A pistol she hadn't known he had.

"Now, that just wasn't nice…" he drawled cockily.

Sam raised her hands in surrender. "Aah…hi," she said lamely, trying to figure out how to get out of this in one piece.

"I like a woman with spunk…" The rest of his threat remained unvoiced as Sara slammed the heavy metal plate her dinner had been served on down on his head sending the would be robber to his knees.

Sam dashed forward and yanked the pistol from the crook's unresisting hand. She expertly stepped back and pointed the pistol at the two men. "Don't!" she yelled as the first robber tried to get to his feet.

"Give me your belt," Sara demanded of the shocked bartender.

Within minutes the police had arrived and taken the two robbers into custody. The two women gave their statements then quietly slipped away as the press began to arrive, eager to report on the capture of the escapees…by two women no less.

"Why is it every time we get together there's a lunatic with a gun?" Sara asked Sam standing beside her car and watching the milling crowd drawn by the flashing lights.

"I don't know. But it's a habit we really should break," Sam said.

Sara laughed then turned serious. "You know, I never did thank you."

Sam frowned. "For what?"

"Back at the mountain. When you stayed behind. That guy would have killed both of us."

Sam shook her head. "You knew where we were. If you hadn't have called for help…"

"If it wouldn't have been for me none of it would have happened," Sara reminded.

"Actually if they hadn't have been trying to blackmail the colonel none of it would have happened," Sam said thoughtfully.

Sara paused, then laughed. "Yeah. It's Jack's fault," she agreed with a smile. "You know, we didn't get the chance to stick him with the check." In fact no one had been stuck with the check, the manager of the restaurant having declared all the victim's meals on the house. "I guess we're just going to have to do it again," Sara declared.

"That sounds like fun," Sam answered honestly digging for her keys as Sara unlocked and opened her car door.

"Maybe we can go to a movie," Sara suggested.

"That sounds great. Give me a call sometime. Just…don't freak if I don't call you right back. Sometime we…go out of town for a while," Sam warned, cringing a bit at the lie. Well technically it wasn't a lie. Being on another planet WAS out of town…way out.

"Ok," Sara agreed. "Just…do yourself a favor."

"What?"

"If Jack ever wants to show you his cabin where the bass are 'this big'," Sara said, holding her hands about a yard apart. "Don't fall for it."

"Why?" Sam asked intrigued.

"There's no electricity, the roof leaks, the pond is empty and the mosquitoes are terrible."

The next morning Sam strolled into the commissary, grabbed a muffin and coffee and joined her friends.

As she sat down Jack looked up from his newspaper and gave her an odd look.

"What?"

"Hot date last night?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"We tried calling and you weren't home. Then we called here and you weren't here so…"

"I WAS off duty colonel."

"Don't let Jack bug you," Daniel said with a smirk. "He was just looking for someone to grab us some food and thought of you."

"Ooh…" Sam replied knowingly. "Well I seem to remember some lecture about getting a life…" she started trying not to smile as Jack rolled his eyes. Not for the first time he regretted shooting his mouth off.

"Aah will you lookee here," Jack said, eager to change the subject. He folded the paper and held it up for all to see.

'Blond Duo Captures Escapees' the headline read.

Sam fought to keep a straight face as she skimmed the article, relieved to see neither hers or Sara's names appeared.

"Wow," Daniel said, slightly disturbed to realize that there had been murders running around the city.

"Those guys have been on the lamb for over a month."

"Yeah, and the wonder twins took them out barehanded. Hey, maybe I should get Hammond to talk to the police. We should recruit them."

"By all means sir. Definitely," Sam said. "Of course you realize the more women we get around here the more we'll need our own locker room. Last I heard they were talking about using your office…"

Daniel fought back a snigger at the panicked look on Jack's face. "Come on Daniel, let's go…somewhere," Jack said, quickly getting to his feet.

As he started to walk away Sam noticed a slight hitch in his step. "Sir? What happened?"

"That's why he was looking for someone to get food. He slipped and twisted his knee," Daniel explained.

"Just an old war wound," Jack dismissed. "It's nothing," he said in a blatant attempt at sympathy.

Sam gained her feet and stood beside her CO. "I'm sure you'll be fine sir. I know you have a high THRESHOLD for pain," she quipped as she walked away reveling in the frown on his face. Getting the last word was a beautiful thing.

Fin


	3. The Light Gambit

The Light Gambit

By

Denise

SG-1 returned to the SGC remarkably in one piece. "Defense teams stand down," General Hammond ordered, visually scanning the quartet before him. Doctor Daniel Jackson was chatting with Major Samantha Carter as they both handed their weapons over to the arms master, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c following suit.

The portly general entered the gateroom. "How was your mission, colonel?" The man asked, his words casual but his voice full of meaning. His premiere team had had a rough time of late, alien and terrestrial machinations and plots pushing them nearly to their breaking point. As if the pressures of the goa'uld situation weren't enough, now the SGC was finding itself an unwitting pawn in a game of political intrigue. There were days when George had no idea who to trust.

"Peachy, sir. Friendly natives, no snake heads…all in all, a nice, boring trip," Jack responded handing his rifle to the sargent.

"I'm glad to hear that, colonel. We'll debrief in the morning," Hammond said, noting the tired expressions on the team's faces.

Sam handed her samples over to Siler and gladly followed the rest of her team from the room, incredibly grateful that the general had delayed the briefing. Right now, she was so tired she feared that she'd doze off and drool on the table.

"Ladies choice," Jack said abruptly as he swiped his card to call the elevator.

"Sir?" Sam asked as the door opened.

"We called it last time. You want infirmary or showers first?" He asked, reviving their long-standing custom. As long as none of them came back needing immediate medical attention, they took turns calling dibs on the showers or infirmary.

Both had their advantages. If the debriefing wasn't immediate, once a person cleared medical they could go home, but there were also those nice sandy planets where all you wanted to do was wash the dirt and grit off your body. Sam was dying for a nice hot shower, but if she cleared medical she could go home, where her bathtub waited for her.

She reached out and hit the button for level 21. "Shower's all yours, sir," she replied with a small smile.

"That's probably a good thing," Jack quipped taking an obvious step away from Daniel.

"What?" the archaeologist asked, frowning.

"Daniel, the doc might like you, but not that much." Sam choked back a grin at the indignant look on her friend's face.

"I do not stink," he protested as the doors opened. "Teal'c?"

"I was not going to say anything," the Jaffa said, stepping aside so Sam could exit the elevator.

"Sam? Help me out here," he pleaded.

"Why don't you ask the colonel about the…. What was it called, Teal'c?" She asked, taking sympathy on her friend.

"The creature was called La'taka," the Jaffa answered, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"La'taka? What's that?" Daniel asked.

"Carter," Jack warned.

"P4C234's version of the skunk," she said, ignoring her CO's icy glare.

Realization dawned. "So that's why…"

"Thanks, Carter," Jack said sarcastically.

"Ask him HOW he got sprayed," Sam suggested as the doors closed. Chuckling under her breath and knowing she'd have to pay for it later, Sam made her way to the infirmary. She'd have to press Teal'c for the details. She knew from experience that tenacious was Daniel's middle name. He literally wouldn't give up until he wormed the whole story out of the colonel. She entered the large room her eyes seeking out Doctor Fraiser.

"Sam. Hi. You guys are back?" the petite brunette woman asked, setting down the chart she was reading and crossing towards her friend.

"Yeah." Sam hopped up on one of the beds and started unzipping her jacket.

"Let me guess, the guys got the showers first?"

"I let them have it. We don't debrief until tomorrow," she explained shrugging out of her jacket as Janet pulled the curtains closed. The doctor proceeded with the examination noting the dark circles under her friend's eyes, the slight slump in her shoulders.

"Still having trouble sleeping?" Sam stared at her feet, not responding. "Sam, you can't keep going on like this."

"Janet, I'm…most of the time, I'm fine."

"But," the doctor pressed.

"It's hard when you're surrounded by three guys 24/7," Sam said wryly referring to the solicitous attitude of her teammates. Ever since they'd rescued her in Seattle, they'd been supportive. The general and the colonel had both pretty much granted her anything she requested. And she couldn't help but notice that not a day of downtime went by without Daniel calling just to chat. Even Teal'c had gotten into the act, not moving far from her side when they were off world.

She appreciated their concern, really she did. But they didn't understand that there were times when she just wanted to be alone.

"Sam, I know for a fact that the colonel had some trouble after Hathor's goa'uld, and that Teal'c had nightmares after you guys got him back from Heru'ur. And Daniel and I both had problems after Machello's goa'uld killers. There's nothing wrong with having bad dreams; in fact it's normal. I'd be worried if you never had a nightmare. You know there's nothing wrong with asking for help."

Sam sighed and looked at her friend. "Janet, you know as well as I do that's not an option. Having me crack up and talk to Mackenzie is just what people are waiting for. They'd love nothing more than to have one or all of us grounded," she said referring to whoever was pulling Simmons' strings. A mystery person whose actions had made it clear that there were crocodiles lurking in the shallows just waiting for one careless moment so they could pounce.

Janet nodded. "You're right. As much as I don't want to admit it. But who says you have to go to Mackenzie? Why don't you talk to one of the guys?"

"Janet, don't get me wrong, they've been great but…as clingy as they are now do you have any idea how bad it'll get if I talk to them? Look, honestly, I'll be ok," she promised.

"I'll tell you what. You said your briefing isn't until tomorrow. So why don't you take a nap? I can even give you a mild sedative if you want," the doctor offered, drawing some blood for the normal post gate tests.

Sam shook her head. "Yes on the nap, no on the drugs. But if I still can't sleep I'll try them tomorrow night."

"It's a deal. I'll send Randi over with your inoculations and then you can go."  Janet looked at her watch. "The guys should be showing up any time now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack strode down the corridor, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. He'd gotten Daniel and Teal'c to agree to a night out, now all he had to do was convince one reluctant and slightly anti-social major that it wouldn't hurt her to come as well. It was the least he could do to repay her for spilling the beans to Daniel.

He knew she'd been under a lot of stress lately, heck they all had. And while a dinner out and maybe a movie wouldn't cure all their ills, it sure couldn't hurt. At least it would pry her out of the mountain for a while, he thought nearing her quarters.

"Daniel?" he stopped short at the sight of his friend exiting Carter's quarters, quietly pulling the door shut behind him.

"Ssh," the man said, holding up his finger in the universal 'quiet' sign. "She's asleep," he said softly, looking over his shoulder. "I thought I'd come invite her," he said in response to Jack's puzzled look. "Janet said she was going to take a nap." Jack looked at his watch. They'd been back nearly four hours. It looked more like his second was down for the count rather than just catching a few Z's. Which he was glad to see, he hadn't missed her close association with insomnia in the past few weeks.

"I put a note on the table. She can catch up with us if she wants to," Daniel said.

"Ok. Guys night out it is," he said, falling into step beside his friend.

"Teal'c's not picking the entertainment is he?"

"Daniel?"

"Jack, I STILL can't look at Jell-O."

"Relax. We're just going to go get something to eat at The Mason Jar and maybe catch a movie," Jack said, calling the elevator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning Jack sat down in the commissary joining Daniel and Teal'c, clutching a mug of coffee in his hands and mentally cursing the person who'd invented beer, or at least the guy whose idea it was to make it stronger now than it was twenty years ago. Three bottles used to barely give him a buzz, now the same amount virtually guaranteed him a headache. He'd known that when he'd polished off the last of the six pack, but he'd needed it. Anything to make the last two hours of Teal'c's Star Wars marathon go a little faster.

He looked across the table, perversely enjoying the same pained expression on Daniel's face. It served him right, he's the one who just had to tell Teal'c that Jack had a VCR and would LOVE to spend the evening suffering through six hours of special effects. "Remind me again why I don't shoot you?" Jack asked.

"Too much paperwork," Daniel answered looking up with bleary eyes. "Just for the record, we'll go Jell-O wrestling next time," he said, holding his head.

"I do not understand why the Tau'ri so joyously consume beverages that have such a negative effect upon their bodies," Teal'c said, giving them his 'tolerant' look.

"I don't understand how you can let a snake sleep in your stomach," Jack quipped, sipping his coffee. Teal'c merely nodded and dug into his breakfast.

"Please tell me we're not doing anything special today," Daniel begged, not looking at the over easy eggs on Teal'c's plate.

Jack slowly shook his head. "Just the debrief, then we can hole up for a while. Speaking of which, either of you seen Carter this morning?"

"I have not."

"No."

"She didn't sign out last night."

"Maybe she crashed. I know the last time I dealt with insomnia, once I got over it, I slept for a week," Daniel offered.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go see if she's still asleep, make sure she's at the debriefing," Jack said, getting to his feet. He left the commissary and made his way to the elevator hoping that she was awake. It would make things a little easier. He saw nothing wrong with catching a nap but he knew that she'd see it as a sign of weakness. The same way she apparently saw the nightmares she'd been having since Seattle as a sign of weakness.  He, Daniel and Teal'c had all noticed the slight change in her behavior in the past few weeks.

She'd been a bit tenser, a little quieter. When they were off world, he'd noticed her trying not to sleep until she was just too tired to fight it any longer. She was playing a dangerous game. He knew sleep deprivation could mess with a person's head. Hell, he'd been there a time or three. But if she'd finally let down her guard and given into her body's demand for rest, then he'd be spared having to step in, which would be easier on both of them.

"Carter?" Jack knocked, opening the door a bit. The room was dim, only a light in the corner illuminating the room. "Carter, you in here? We got a debriefing in an hour." He peeked his head around the door.  She was curled up on the bunk facing the wall. He could see that she'd showered and changed her clothes, her boots sitting on the floor beside the bunk. "Carter?" he called louder, crossing the room. "Come on, time to get up." Getting no response he shook her shoulder, alarmed when her head lolled limply. "Carter?" he said sharply, reaching for her pulse at her neck. His hand recoiled and his heart sank as his fingers encountered nothing but cold, still flesh.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A very shell-shocked group met in the briefing room an hour later. The details of the mission to P8T675 forgotten, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and General Hammond sat silently in the large comfortable chairs awaiting the arrival of Doctor Fraiser. Jack stared at his hands, still feeling the cold, almost rubbery feeling flesh under his fingers. It wasn't supposed to be like this. If one of them died it was supposed to be on a mission in a blaze of glory, not quietly in their sleep two hundred feet under a mountain. Hell, they weren't supposed to die at all, not these people, not his team. They'd all thumbed their noses at the grim reaper enough times he'd started to wonder vaguely if they were immune somehow.

"I don't understand how it happened," Daniel said. "I mean she was fine yesterday."

"Did anything happen on the planet?" Hammond asked. "Anything that you didn't pay attention to at the time?"

"No."

"Other than being an alien planet, there was nothing of note upon P8T675," Teal'c reported.

"Text book mission, sir," Jack said quietly. He'd been wondering the same thing. Had there been some plant, some bug or animal Carter had come into contact with? Had he missed something?

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," Janet said, hurrying into the room.

"That's quite all right, doctor," He said as she took a seat. Jack glanced at the physician seeing the puffy nature of her eyes; her slightly smeared make up. He suspected she wasn't the only one in such a state at the moment.

"We just…Major Carter…" Janet paused and took a deep breath. "The best that we can determine is that she's been dead about twelve hours. We'll know more when the autopsy is done. There's a pathologist coming over from Peterson."

"Autopsy? For cryin out loud doc, you're not going to cut her open," Jack protested.

"Colonel, it's standard procedure for a death of mysterious circumstances," Janet said, trying to placate him. "We don't know what happened. It might be nothing, but we have to know."

"And what else do you have to know?" Daniel asked bitterly.

"Daniel?"

"How long until the NID gets here?"

"I don't see what the NID…"

"Oh please Jack. You know as well as I do that they've been trying to get Sam to participate in their tests for years. Hell, I imagine they're drooling at the prospect of peeking inside a host's head," he said cynically.

Jack met Hammond's gaze. They both knew that the NID was incredibly interested in Carter's altered physiology. And they knew that she'd refused every request for any kind of study beyond giving them some blood samples. There had even been a discretely worded request a couple of years ago, purely in the interests of national security, of course, that the NID expected to have Sam's body, if and when she died, delivered to them. A request that both Jack and George had no intention of fulfilling.

"It's not going to happen," Jack said quietly earning him a look from Daniel. "Don't worry, we've aah…it won't happen," he said refusing to go into detail.

Slightly mollified, Daniel sat back. "Now what?" he asked tiredly.

"Has Jacob Carter been informed of his daughter's passing?" Teal'c asked.

Hammond nodded. "We just sent a message. The Tok'ra are going to send him as soon as they can."

"What about us?" Daniel asked. "If it was something off world we've been exposed, too."

"I don't think so, Daniel. Sam's and your bloodworks showed nothing foreign at all. I hate to say this but…"

"Do not go there, doc," Jack warned.

"Colonel, if it wasn't a biological agent then…."

"No," Jack insisted. "There is no way in hell she'd have killed herself."

"I agree with O'Neill. Major Carter does not have the psychological wherewithal  to take her own life," he stated.

"This speculation gains us nothing," Hammond said. "Colonel, according to what I've been told, Major Carter went to her quarters last night. Teal'c, you and Doctor Jackson work with security, let's make sure she was alone. Colonel, check the duty logs. I want to know who was on this base in the last sixteen hours. There has to be a reason one of my best officers died and I want to know what it is. Dismissed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Yes?" the bored voice of the colonel answered the telephone.

"Sir. It's…."

"No names," he reminded sharply. Incompetent people.

"Yes sir."

"How is the experiment progressing?"

"Sir, that's what I'm calling you about."

"Yes?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I administered the serum. There was a…side effect," she said, her voice falling off.

"What kind of side effect?" he asked impatiently. It was like pulling teeth.

"The subject terminated, sir," she said in a rush.

"What do you mean terminated?" He asked harshly.

"It did work, sir, the subject was neutralized. But instead of dissipating in the subject's system it apparently caused multiple organ failure." The colonel stopped listening as the woman prattled on and one. Damn. It should have worked. Every test had let him to believe that it was the formula he was looking for.

"Enough," he cut her off. "Have you been compromised?"

"What? No, sir."

"Remain in position." He ordered, hanging up the telephone. It was a set back, but maybe not as bad as he'd first thought. She said it had worked initially, that was good. He just had to know when and how it had gone wrong. And he couldn't do that from here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cold. It was so cold. And so incredibly quiet. She could feel a faint vibration, feel the chilling breeze blowing gently over her body. Why was it so cold? She should get up; maybe she left the window open. That made no sense, if the window was open it wouldn't be so quiet. What had happened? Why couldn't she open her eyes? Why couldn't she move? She could feel something hard and smooth under her and the faint weight of a covering over her. Why was she under the covers? She never slept totally under the covers. There was a faint click and she felt the air pressure change. A sensation of motion and she felt someone pull back the covers. They picked up the cold metal of her dog tag and she heard the faint rustle of paper. What the hell was going on? She felt the cover at her feet raised and hands fumbled at her right foot. "Here you go doc." A voice said.

"This your DB?" a strange voice said. She could her the footsteps of another person coming closer.

"Yep. Major Samantha Carter." She heard the rustle of paper again. "She was found dead this morning. Cause of death undetermined. Which is why you're here, I'd guess."

"Yeah. Lucky me," the man said. "Can you show me to your lab?"

"Sure doc, right this way." She felt the cover flipped back over her face and heard the footsteps fade away.

Dead? Wait a minute. She wasn't dead. She tried to move, to yell or make some noise, but her body remained stubbornly quiescent.  This was wrong, they were wrong.

The footsteps returned and she felt gloved hands picking her up, moving her from the cold surface to one slightly warmer but still too cool for comfort. She again felt movement and sensed that she was being pushed down a hall, clued in by the odd squeak and squeal of a gurney wheel direly in need of some WD-40.

There was a slight thump and she could smell another room, this time the odor of disinfectant and the faint lingering aroma of death assailed her nose. She'd been in this room once, years ago on her orientation tour. In her mind's eye she could see the patchwork blue and green tiles, the stainless steel trays of stainless steel instruments, the uses of which she hadn't wanted to imagine.

She felt hands lift her up high over the edge of the lipped table. They set her down gently, one of them propping her head on a hard block. Oh God, they thought she was dead. Was she dead? This didn't feel like before. It had been warm and welcoming, not cold and sterile. She couldn't be dead.

The cover was pulled back and from the rush of cold air she could tell that she was naked under the sheet. She listened to the doctor dispassionately describing her physical condition, examining every inch and rolling her over to search for any clues. He'd notice. He had to notice that his autopsyee wasn't quite ready for his services yet.

"…No obvious external signs of trauma. Proceeding to internal exam."

Internal? What did he….ooh no, he so was not going to… She felt the light touch of fingertips at her left shoulder.

"Starting Y incision…"

NO, she tried to scream, feeling the slight pressure of the scalpel on her skin. He stopped abruptly and she thought for a moment that he'd heard her.

"Who are you?" he asked, raising his hand. "You can't be in here."

"Indeed I can. I am Major Carter's teammate. I will be present for this procedure." She heard Teal'c say. Teal'c. Yes. He'd figure it out. He'd stop the happy butcher.

"Look. You aah...you don't want to see your friend this way."

"Indeed, I do not. However I wish to guard my friend and insure that her body is not defiled unnecessarily," he said. Sam could hear the repressed emotion in his voice. If she could cry she'd be balling right now, she thought.

She heard the doctor sigh heavily. "You can stand over there." She heard Teal'c step away and again felt the hands on her shoulder. NO. This was not going to happen. Come on Teal'c, where are those Jaffa senses of yours. I'm not dead. For God's sake, I'm not dead. I'm not dead.

Her internal litany came to a screeching halt as she felt the stinging slice of the scalpel cutting into her skin. Mentally she screamed as he cut again, this time slicing a bit deeper into the muscle. "That's odd…" he said, probing the cut with his fingers.

"What is odd?"

"She's bleeding…Oh sweet Jesus." She heard the clatter of the scalpel fall to the floor.

"Doctor?"

"She…I…" She heard the doctor stagger back.

"Doctor, you will tell me what is the matter," she heard Teal'c demand angrily.

"Not dead…oh God, she's not dead," the man gasped. "I have to go…get help…I…" She heard the door to the morgue fly open as she felt warm hands on her body.

Fingers gently probed the incision and she heard the sharp intake of breath. She felt the sheet drawn back up covering her as a bit of fabric was pressed against the cut. "Major Carter, I shall remove you from this place," he said, picking her up like he would a child.

Still shocked from the near miss she hardly registered the sound of the door opening, Teal'c carrying her impatiently past the elevator and towards the stairs. She didn't care where he was taking her, as long as it wasn't…there.

"Teal'c! What are you doing?" She heard Janet ask horrified.

"You will aid her," he said, laying her down on the bed.

"Teal'c…there's nothing I can do…" She heard Teal'c leave her and the jumble of footsteps as he dragged Janet to her side. Hands again explored the incision. "Teal'c, sometimes bodies bleed…."

"Corpses do not have a pulse," he said, applying pressure to make the wound bleed a bit. Sam felt the sticky wetness stream down her chest.

"Oh my God," Janet breathed. Sam felt cold metal touch her chest. "This isn't possible. There's a heart beat."

Through her relief Sam barely comprehended the flurry of orders and activity or felt the tiny sting of someone drawing blood. "Sam. Sam, I'm going to try a stimulant, ok?" Janet asked. Sam felt the needle slide into her vein and the warm rush of drugs into her system. Slowly she could feel her heartbeat and breathing speed up. Fighting against the panic, she forced her eyes open and tried to make them focus. "Sam? Can you hear me?" Janet's face swam over hers, the doctor's hand grabbing hers.

Sam grabbed it convulsively and fought against the shivers that were wracking her frame as cold muscles struggled to warm themselves. "Nnnot dead," she whispered through chattering teeth.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How the hell can someone foul up this badly?" Jack demanded loudly, not caring that his voice was carrying out of the briefing room and down the stairs.

"Colonel," Hammond said.

"No, sir. People make mistakes; I can deal with that. But how the hell do you send a person to the morgue when they're still alive?" he yelled, shooting to his feet. He was over the line, he knew it, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Preliminary results on Sam's blood shows a very strong sedative, at least we think it's a sedative. No one's ever seen it before. It's similar to curare, it paralyzes the muscles and slows the metabolism down to practically nothing."

"Practically nothing? You didn't even check did you? Oops, this one has no pulse that I can detect, must be dead," he sneered.

"Jack!" Daniel chastised.

"Sir, she was cold! You felt it yourself. If it's so easy to do why did you call me telling me that she was dead?" Janet demanded, her voice anguished.

"That's enough!" Hammond yelled diffusing the tension in the room. "We'll deal with whatever procedures need to be changed later. Doctor, what is Major Carter's condition?"

"Once I gave her the stimulant it seemed to totally reverse the effects of the drug. It took several stitches to close up the….wound. Teal'c's staying with her and other than a bad case of shock, she's fine. It will take a few weeks for the muscle damage to heal enough for her to go off world but…"

"It doesn't make any sense, Janet," Daniel spoke up. "Why didn't this drug show up in her post gate?"

"That's just it Daniel, it didn't. Her post gate blood work was fine," Janet insisted.

"So it has to be something she came into contact with here, on the base."

"Does Major Carter remember anything from the last twenty-four hours?" Hammond asked.

Janet sighed. "Pretty much all of it," she admitted, steeling herself for another explosion from O'Neill.

"What?" Jack asked.

"From what she told me and Teal'c, she remembers you trying to wake her up sir. And…. everything since."

"Oh, god," Daniel breathed, paling a bit.

"She doesn't remember anyone giving her anything?" Hammond asked refusing to dwell on what he'd just been told. There'd be enough time for that later.

"No, Sir. She left the infirmary, had a shower and then laid down. The next thing she knew was Colonel O'Neill trying to wake her up."

"No one went near her quarters," Daniel reported, relaying the information he'd gleaned from his original search for suspects in his friend's death. "Teal'c and I have watched all the security video."

"Look over it again," Hammond ordered. "Doctor, I want a complete search of Major Carter' s quarters. If there's a booby trap there I want it found. Colonel, you and I are going to go over the duty rosters again. If we have a traitor in our midst I want them flushed out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly drifted back to consciousness, savoring the softness of the bed and the warmth of the blankets covering her. She didn't know how many there were, eventually she'd stopped counting as Teal'c and Janet had piled on one after the other in an effort to stop her shivers enough that the doctor could stitch up the incision.

She could sense the presence of Junior and that simple fact comforted her like no other. She felt a little silly, clutching at Teal'c's hand with her good arm while Janet had doctored her shoulder but she'd been unable to stop herself at the time. His presence and calm voice were the only two things that had stopped her from totally freaking out.

She slowly opened her eyes, meeting the dark concerned gaze of Teal'c. "Major Carter," he said, reaching out to help her. She slowly sat up, her balance off a bit with her arm in a sling across her stomach. She'd have to get used to it, she knew. Janet had warned her that it would be a bit before she could lose the sling without risking doing more damage to her shoulder muscles, but at least it was better than the alternative. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, " she said smiling slightly. "Really," she responded to his skeptical eyebrow. "Where are the guys?"

"O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are speaking with General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser," he answered not elaborating on what they were speaking about. He didn't need to. She knew how many 'discussions' there had been after Daniel had been accidentally committed to mental health last year. Wrongly declaring someone dead would be worse. Feeling a sudden wave of claustrophobia, she pushed the blankets back and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. "Major Carter? You should not leave the infirmary."

"I need to get out of here, Teal'c," she said, fighting to keep her voice even the memories she'd buried creeping back to the surface.

"Doctor Fraiser was most insistent that you remain here."

She saw the concern in his face and for a moment regretted the bit of weakness in insisting that he remain with her. This would be so much easier if he were gone. "A walk," she suggested. "She can't protest that. My legs are stiff," she said hoping that he wouldn't press the issue. He gave her an appraising look then turned and opened the closet, pulling out a robe. "Thanks," she said, slipping her good arm into it and her feet into slippers sitting on the floor.

Half an hour later she signed out at the front gate hoping that the guards all hadn't heard about her recent demise. In the back of her mind, she knew she was probably making a mistake and that there would be hell to pay when she got back, especially from one very pissed off Jaffa…but she didn't care. All she knew for sure was that she had to get the hell out of here before she totally lost her mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack entered the infirmary, a list clutched in his hand. He shot a glance at the shrouded bed in the corner then headed towards Janet's office. He could visit Carter on the way out, assuming she was even awake. "Doc?" He knocked on the slightly ajar door.

"Come in," she said. He could hear the tension in her voice. "What can I do for you, colonel?" she asked cautiously.

"Peace." He held up his hands. "I'm…I was a jerk. I'm sorry."

She relaxed visibly. "Me too, sir. Please sit."

"I was thinking. You said Carter didn't remember anyone coming into her quarters or anything right?"

"Yes, sir. Of course it's possible that if she was in a deep enough sleep she could have missed it."

"Not according to the security tapes from the corridor outside her room. Which got me thinking. You just expanded the medical staff a couple of months ago?"

"Yes, sir. Once we expanded to over fifteen teams it stood to reason that we'd need more medical staff. There's even talk of enlarging the infirmary. We sometimes have to shuffle beds as it is."

"Right. Now, if you were trying to get a person to take a drug without he or she noticing it what would you do?"

Janet frowned and thought a moment. "Hide it in their food maybe."

"Or give it to them in a form they're so used to that they don't suspect a thing. Carter got her post gate inoculations right?"

"Of course colonel, that's standard…you think I did it?" she asked, her eyes growing wide.

"No. No," he hurried to say. "But what if one of your staff did? Namely a Lieutenant Randi Bradley." He handed her the duty logs.

"Randi? Why would she do anything like that? She's only been here a couple of months."

"Exactly. Did you recruit her or was she recommended?"

"I aah…just a second." Janet got to her feet and opened a file cabinet. She pulled out a file and read through it. "She was recommended, a General Garcia at the Pentagon. You think she tried to kill Sam?"

"Honestly, I don't think she tried to kill her, at least not intentionally."

"Then what, sir?"

"I'm not sure yet. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure that this Bradley had anything to do with it. She's just the only lead I have right now. Doc, is there any way to find out what she put in Carter's inoculation? Other than asking her that is."

Janet thought a moment, then walked past Jack and into the infirmary. He followed her over to a red biohazard box hanging on the wall. "It's standard procedure. After each shot we remove the needle here and place the syringe in this box until it can be incinerated. I have no way of knowing which syringe was used on Sam but I can test the residue and see if the sedative is in one of them," she said.

"That's good. And keep it on the QT please, doc. If this Bradley is a plant, we don't need to tip our hand."

"I'll do it myself," Janet said, pulling the box off of the wall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lieutenant Randi Bradley stood nervously in the shadow of a pin oak, her eyes scanning her surroundings. She could feel droplets of sweat rolling down her back as her hands worried the file folder she'd taken from the mountain. It was wrong, had been from the beginning. It had seemed so simple at first. All she was supposed to do was keep her eye out for any medical knowledge that her superior wanted. Simple. No big deal, really. It wasn't like she was giving up secrets or anything. Her boss had clearance even higher than General Hammond's. All she was doing was insuring that the information reached her boss in a timelier manner. No big deal. But then he wanted her to give Major Carter the shot. He'd said it would simply knock the woman out so Randi could take a few readings and maybe a sample or two. No one would ever know. And it wasn't like she was violating the woman's privacy, she was military, she basically had none. But it wasn't supposed to kill her. That had been bad enough but now…she wasn't dead. How was she going to tell her boss that? 'Sorry, colonel, I made a mistake. Major Carter is really alive.'

"I hope that's not my report you're mangling," the smooth voice said from behind her.

Gasping she spun, her hand going to her chest. "Sir…you scared me," she choked out.

He gave her an intolerant look and took the file from her, leaving her nervous fingers to twist amongst themselves. "You should pay more attention. Is the autopsy report in here?" He started to read the file.

"Umm. No sir."

He looked up sharply. "I specifically told you I needed that report."

"I can't, sir…"

"I don't want to hear can't. I want that report."

"Sir. She's alive," she spat out instinctively taking a step back.

"I don't want to…alive? You told me she was dead," he accused, stepping forward, enjoying the panicked look in her eyes. It had been so long.

"She was. Or maybe they just thought that she was. I was there; they brought her into the infirmary. Doctor Grissom had been getting ready to cut her open to do the autopsy when he realized that she wasn't dead. That…that's good, right?" She asked, her eyes darting past him. He'd backed her into the thick trunk of the tree, stepping so close as to block her escape.

The colonel thought a moment. This might be even better. He knew that Hammond had been blocking the disposal of Carter's body and that he'd likely have to contend himself with copies of the autopsy. But now…now he had a chance at the real thing. And best of all, the drug appeared to work. Things just might work out.

'Kill her.'

'What? She did as we asked.'

'She's a simpering child who will betray us to save her own skin in an instant. Kill her.'

Shrugging internally he smiled broadly. "Yes, it's very, very good." He turned from her and dropped the file onto the ground.

"That's great, sir," she said, her voice clearly relieved. "Was…was there something else you needed me to do?"

He stood up a fist-sized rock clasped in his gloved hand. "Yes, Lieutenant. Die." He raised the rock and with a super human strength, struck her with it again and again. When her body was lying motionless upon the rocky ground, he stood up, tossing the rock disdainfully aside. Breaking a few small branches off the tree he covered her with them, then stood back. His face was covered in blood, he could tell, feeling it start to dry into a hard, sticky mask. He licked the blood off his lips, savoring the salty taste. He stared at the body, he should be horrified at what he'd just done, but instead he was oddly invigorated. So long, it had been so long and it felt so good. Picking up the folder he turned, leaving the body behind. It was time for round two.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam signed into the mountain slightly refreshed and more than a little regretful. She knew she was probably in trouble but hoped that General Hammond was in a forgiving mood. Even if by some miracle, her absence had escaped the eagle eyes of Janet, there was no way in hell Teal'c was still standing outside the locker room waiting for her to change from the scrubs she'd been dressed in and into a pair of sweats she'd had in her locker. He was patient, but not THAT patient.

Ditching him had been an incredibly rude thing to do, but she'd been desperate to get out of the mountain and find a little peace and quiet to clear her head. During the last twelve hours, she'd done a lot of thinking.

Janet said she'd ruled out anything on the planet and she hadn't eaten before she laid down to nap so whoever slipped her the drug hadn't put it in her food. This left the obvious idea of the post mission inoculations. But why? What could be gained by drugging her? She knew that Doctor Brooks and his compatriots disappeared into Federal Custody after her kidnapping in Seattle. Were they behind it? She wasn't naïve enough to think they'd been locked up, chances are they were serving their time in some lab somewhere. They'd been wanting to separate Conrad from the goa'uld. But Conrad was gone, vanished just like the doctors. Unless he vanished WITH the doctors. What if they were still trying to carry on their experiments? Maybe they'd meant for her to die?

She had to talk to the colonel. Well, apologize first, than talk. She needed to see what he thought of her theory. Was it valid or was she just paranoid?

She made her way to his office, grateful for the early hour, which meant there was practically no one in the corridors to deal with. Seeing the door hanging open a bit she took a deep breath then knocked perfunctorily and slipped in. His keys were tossed negligently on his desk beside a steaming cup of take-out coffee telling her that he'd just arrived.

Knowing that he'd have to change since he rarely wore his BDU's for the drive she turned and walked to their locker room. "Colonel?" She called quietly, knocking on the door and peeking cautiously around it.

Her CO was hunched over tying his laces. Hearing her voice he looked up surprised. "Carter? Where the hell have you been?" He demanded, shooting to his feet.

"I'm sorry sir. I know Teal'c is probably mad at me…"

"Yeah, he's pissed, but he's the least of your worries. Why'd you go AWOL?" He slipped behind her and closed the door.

"I…I just had to get out of here sir, take some time to think. Colonel, I hate to say this and it might sound a little…paranoid, but what if the drug was in my post gate inoculation?"

"Carter."

"Sir, it's the only thing that makes sense. Right after I cleared medical was when I started feeling so sleepy and…"

"Carter…"

"I didn't eat anything so…"

"Carter!" he said sharply making her look up. "It was the post gate inoculation. Fraiser found traces in one of the syringes. How well do you know Lieutenant Bradley?" he asked abruptly.

"Who?"

"Lieutenant Randi Bradley."

Sam stopped and thought. "The name doesn't ring a bell sir."

"She's one of Fraiser's nurses," he explained. "The one who gave you your post gate."

"Did she say why?" Sam asked not knowing if she was relieved or dismayed that she'd been right.

"She'd dead," Jack said flatly.

"What?"

"The police found her body a few hours ago. Hammond just got the call."

Sam stopped and thought. They were covering their tracks, whoever they were.

"Colonel O'Neill," Sergeant Davis' voice carried through the door.

Shooting her a warning look, Jack crossed to the door and opened it. "Yeah, Davis?"

"Sir. General Hammond wants to see you ASAP. Sir, they're calling Bradley's death a homicide. And there's a representative from the JCS arriving right now to investigate it," the man reported.

"Yeah. I'll be right there," Jack answered, closing the door. "Carter?" he whispered. Getting no response he quickly searched the room and came up empty. "Damn it," he muttered then left to meet with the general.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack knocked on Hammond's door, then entered the man's office, carefully keeping his face bland. "You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked. "Oh for cryin out loud. Samuels, what are you doing here?" he demanded, unable to hide his dislike of the smarmy man.

"It's nice to see you too, colonel. I'm here to investigate the death of Lieutenant Bradley," he said, turning to face Jack.

"You're in the wrong place. She was killed off base; we have no jurisdiction over it. Surely the general told you that?" Jack said trying to glean something from Hammond's expression. The older man's shuttered countenance told Jack that there was a lot more going on here than a simple investigation.

"You're right colonel. We do have no jurisdiction over the investigation. However, we are well within our purview to give any and all assistance to the local authorities. Tell me colonel, do you know of anyone on this base that would have a reason to wish to harm Lieutenant Bradley?" He asked. "Anyone with whom she has ill feeling?"

"The lieutenant's only been here a couple of months," Hammond said.

"Oh, I know that, sir. But some people make enemies faster than others, don't they, colonel?" the man asked pointedly.

"What's your point, Samuels?" Jack asked coldly not liking the direction this was heading.

"I'm not trying to make a point, colonel. It's just that since the lieutenant was new to the area and reportedly had few friends outside of work, then it stands to reason that her killer might know her from here." He turned to face the general. "Sir. I'm under orders to question everyone who has had contact with the lieutenant, co-workers, anyone she was seeing socially. I'm also under orders to investigate the incident with Major Carter," he said, handing a sheaf of papers to the general.

"I don't see what Major Carter's incident has to do with this," Hammond said, taking the papers and dropping them on his desk.

"Maybe nothing, sir. But you have to admit that two such breaches in such a short period of time could be related somehow," he said. "I trust that I have your full cooperation?" The man smiled.

"Of course," Hammond answered coldly.

"If you will excuse me then, general, colonel, I'll start my investigation." Samuels saluted then left the room.

Jack watched him go then shut the door behind the man. "General?"

"Jack, there's nothing I can do."

"Sir, even a blind man can see where this is going. Bradley drugged Carter who has since vanished and now Bradley's dead," Jack said not tipping his hand that Carter was on the base. If the general knew that then he'd have to do something about it. Jack just hoped she had the sense to hole up somewhere.

"Do you know for sure that it was Bradley?" Hammond asked.

"She's the one that gave Carter the shot. It had to be her."

"You think it's her, colonel. You have no proof."

"We have the syringe with residue of the drug in it…"

"A syringe with no finger prints on it since all medical personnel wear gloves. For all we know, someone gave it to Bradley and she was totally unaware of what she'd done. It's circumstantial at best."

Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "So what do we do, sir?"

"We're pretty sure where Samuels is going with this. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he's right about the situation with Carter and Bradley being connected. While he's off trying to incriminate Carter, why don't you find out what really happened."

"Yes, sir." Jack turned to leave.

"Colonel?" He turned back. "We need proof. Proof that Samuels can't spin his way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack left the general's office trying not to look like he was going somewhere. He had to get up to the front gate. Even if Carter was staying hidden, eventually Samuels would think to check the sign in sheet. The base was just big enough that if no one knew you were here, you could stay hidden, for a while at least. And he had a funny feeling that his second had to stay AWOL for a bit longer.

He rode the elevator to level 11 trying to plan how to swap or misplace the sign in sheet. Whatever he did it had to be discrete.

"Sir," the SF snapped to attention.

"At ease, Sergeant." Jack picked up the clipboard and flipped through the papers. Fortunately, Carter had signed in on a different sheet than Samuels, and he doubted that the man had thought to check the other sheets. "This is the only record of who's entered the base this morning?" he asked the man, taking the top sheet with Carter's signature on it off the clipboard.

"Yes, sir. Well, that and the video." The man jerked his thumb at the camera over his shoulder. Damn, the cameras. Lord only knew which cameras she'd been on. "Is it true what they say, sir?" the man asked,

"Say about what?"

"That Lieutenant Colonel Samuels is trying to blame Major Carter for Lieutenant Bradley's death," the man asked quietly.

Jack looked at him sharply. "You heard about that?"

"Yes, sir, well sort of. The colonel's driver told me all about it, he overheard the colonel on the phone on the way from Peterson."

"Did he? What else did he hear?"

"Just that the colonel believes the major is to blame and he plans to take her back with him. Colonel, with all due respect sir, I can't let you take those sheets," the man said, reaching out to take the sign in sheets from Jack.

"Excuse me, Sergeant?"

The man set them down and deliberately knocked his coffee cup over, spilling the dark liquid over the sheets. "I'm afraid there are no sign in sheets from early this morning, sir. A careless accident. And I do have to report that there was a slight technical difficulty with the cameras as well," he said meaningfully.

"Thank you Sergeant," Jack said sincerely.

"Any time, sir," the man replied as Jack turned and went back down. Now that his major didn't exist, all he had to do was find her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam sat in the corner of the rarely used storeroom on level 15 trying to still her breathing as she heard someone enter the room. She should have known that they'd find her. She'd signed in this morning and the base wasn't that big. If she had any guts she'd just troop right on down to the general's office and turn herself in. And there was a part of her that wanted to do just that. But there was a bigger part of her that wished she'd never come back. She could have just vanished, hiked up into the mountains and disappeared.

She'd been tempted to do just that this morning as she sat in a park watching the sunrise. She could leave and find someplace where no one knew anything about the goa'uld or the Tok'ra. Where no one knew that she had an alien metal swimming in her blood or a protein marker that apparently made her a desired lab rat. Somewhere where no one would drug her against her will. Maybe she'd start to feel like she could trust people again. This would be nice because she sure as hell didn't feel very trusting at the moment.

"Carter? You in here?" She heard the colonel whisper harshly.

"I didn't kill her, colonel," she said despite herself.

"Ya think. Course you didn't."

"Samuels thinks I did."

"Samuels couldn't find his ass with both hands. Are you going to come out or are we going to play hide and seek?"

"It's better if I don't. Then if he asks if you've seen me, you can honestly say no," she answered, feeling relief at his seemingly unconditional belief in her innocence.

"Let me worry bout that. I feel stupid talking to myself."

She got to her feet and stepped out of the corner. "I'm sorry I left earlier I…"

"Panicked?"

"Sorta," she admitted sheepishly.

"How many other people know you're on the base?"

"I went straight to your office this morning. I don't really think anyone else knows. But that doesn't matter, all he has to do is check the sign in sheet."

"He could. Except they suffered a coffee attack. As far as Samuels is concerned you're still AWOL. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you have a nice alibi for last night?"

Sam shook her head ruefully. "No, sir."

"What did you do?"

"I just…drove for a while. I found a park and…Colonel, I'm sorry. I know it was stupid, but I had to get out of here."

"Unfortunately that plays right into his theory that you killed Bradley."

"What do I do now, colonel?"

Jack stopped and thought a minute. If he followed the book, he should march the major down to Hammond's office and turn her in. But he'd thrown the book out the window about twenty years ago. "You stay here. I'm going to go fill Daniel and Teal'c in. Samuels does have part of it right, whomever killed Bradley is probably behind what happened to you. We just have to find the link, and we need to keep Samuels chasing his tail until we can find some proof to clear your name."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c cautiously entered the storeroom glancing at his watch. He would have to make haste. O'Neill had requested that they meet at 1300 and given the circuitous route he and Major Carter would have to take to evade personnel and surveillance cameras they would barely make it on time.

"Major Carter," he called softly. Getting no response he quickly searched the room. Perhaps her location had been discovered and she had sought refuge elsewhere? He found his teammate sitting on the floor in the far corner of the room her back against the wall, fast asleep.

He found some of his ire at her eluding his guardianship the previous day fade. His teammates were all capable warriors in their own rights, but in those moments when he saw them at their most vulnerable, he was reminded that he had been a warrior before they and even their parents were born. "Major Carter," he said again, reaching out to give her uninjured shoulder a gentle shake.

She wakened with a start, her right arm striking out. "Teal'c." She shook her head to clear the sleep from her brain.

"O'Neill desires us to meet. He has sent me to retrieve you." He stood up and held out his hand to pull her to her feet. She stood up with a grimace, her right hand going to her wounded shoulder. Wordlessly he held out a small brown bottle. "Had you informed me of your desire to leave the infirmary I would have given these to you," he chastised watching her read the label. They were some painkillers that Doctor Fraiser had slipped to him in the event that he had contact with the errant major.

"Thanks," she grinned slipping the bottle into her pocket. He nodded and started to steer her towards the door. "Teal'c…I'm sorry. Ditching you was wrong I just…" She took a deep breath. "I had to get out of here for a bit," she apologized. "And what you said…downstairs. It means a lot. Thanks." She took his hand and grasped it tight.

He nodded and returned the gesture, smiling slightly. "I believe once we provide Lieutenant Colonel Samuels with sufficient evidence of your innocence, General Hammond will be most interested in being briefed on the ease in which a previously deceased person gained exit from this facility," he warned.

"It's not my fault they built it to keep people out not in," she quipped.

"Indeed. We must move quickly. Security will begin to monitor this section again in a few moments." Placing a hand on the small of her back, he guided her out of the storeroom and towards the meeting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bert Samuels knocked on Hammond's door, then entered the room without waiting for permission. Soon he would not need to pander to rules and regulations to appease the general.

'Patience.'

'I'm tired of being patient. This man is the sole barrier between me and my goals. Time and time again he has eluded my best efforts. But this time I have him right where I want him.'

'Right now you have nothing. The only sample of the drug was used on Major Carter, whose body you do not have possession of. You do not have proof that the serum works and without proof they will not risk using it on Conrad.'

'They will use it. With Simmons compromised, they will have no choice. They will pay my price.'

'They will mock you. You desire command of this facility yet you do not have the power to attain that goal. You are too impatient.'

'I do not need command of this facility. I don't care what their logs say; they know where Carter is hiding. Once we prove that we will prove that O'Neill and Hammond are in collusion and they both will be removed from this command. Carter will be found and I will take custody of her. Regardless of what they may think of me they will not be able to deny my accomplishment. I will topple the SGC once and for all.'

'I have heard this before.'

"Samuels," Hammond said coldly pulling the man from his internal contemplation.

"Aah, General Hammond, I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, ignoring the pile of papers on the man's desk. "This won't take long." He tossed a file onto the desk deliberately sending a few of the man's papers to the floor.

"What's this?" Hammond pointed at the folder, refusing to open it.

Samuels sat down sitting back and crossing his legs. "The results of my investigation."

"I see. Colonel, the autopsy of Bradley isn't even finished yet and you have decided you've discovered the identity of her killer?"

"The autopsy will simply confirm my findings," he said smugly.

"Which are?"

"Major Carter went AWOL at 1900 last night. A fact you neglected to inform me of, by the way. Lieutenant Bradley was killed at 2100. Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Fraiser have determined that the lieutenant is the person who drugged Carter, this gives her motive."

"You can't prove that."

"Perhaps not, however when taken into consideration with the major's experiences and behaviors in recent months, I'm surprised that you haven't removed her from active duty. In fact, your failure to do that indicates that you're letting your personal feelings interfere with your ability to command."

"The major's past experiences have no bearing on this investigation."

"I think they do, general. First of all, she's been host to a goa'uld and on several occasions has claimed to have access to the creature's memories. Second is a trend of flaunting orders to achieve personal goals beginning with her and the rest of SG-1's collusion with an alien race to allow the Tollan to escape. Then she and O'Neill deliberately disobeyed orders to carry out a personal mission to Apophis' ship. She allowed the alien Linea access to the computer systems, it was her idea that the orb be brought back to earth for study, an act that nearly resulted in the destruction of the whole planet. She set off her reactor to provide a distraction for O'Neill to kidnap the Orbanian child. She backed O'Neill when HE refused to obey a direct order and bring the alien Alar and his knowledge to earth. And let's not forget her breaking out of this facility and causing property damage to a restaurant in town, endangering not only this facility but also innocent civilian lives.

" She also failed to apprehend the goa'uld Osiris, and was blatantly disrespectful to General Bauer. This was before her mind was taken over by an alien entity which threatened to destroy this whole planet, then kept another alien as a house guest for over a week before working with that alien to destroy a weapon that could have been used to protect earth.

"And I'm sure you recall having to have her and the rest of SG-1 forcibly disarmed when they all refused YOUR direct order. Shall I go on with her disregard for procedures that nearly destroyed a planet, having O'Neill let the goa'uld Nirti go to save the life of one child, her negligence that resulted in the death of an ambassador and cost us a potential beneficial alliance and her blatant refusal to cooperate with her superiors," he finished ticking off the list on his fingers.

"I know the game you're playing, LIEUTENANT Colonel, better men then you have tried and failed," Hammond said his jaw set. "Who are you working for and what do you really want?"

"Simply justice, general. It's clear that Major Carter has finally snapped and murdered Lieutenant Bradley in cold blood. How long are you going to shelter a murderer? How many more of your people does she have to kill before you admit that she's insane and needs to be confined for her own safety and the safety of others?"

Hammond shot angrily to his feet just as the klaxons sounded announcing an incoming wormhole.

'Unauthorized gate activation.' Hammond walked from behind his desk and pulled the door open. "Get the hell out of my office," he ordered.

Samuels got smoothly to his feet. "Of course, sir. I really hope your major hasn't been lending her GDO out to people," he baited, stepping from the room then following the general down the stairs to the control room.

"Close the iris," Hammond ordered.

"No need sir, receiving Tok'ra GDO," the technician reported.

'Tok'ra? Leave now.'

'I'm not leaving. Not when I'm this close.'

The iris swirled open and a few seconds later a single figure emerged. Shooting Samuels a cold look, Hammond walked past him and down to the control room.

'Oh, this is too good. The major called her daddy for help.'

'Leave now!' Ignoring the voice in his head, Samuels followed the general down the stairs and into the control room.

"George, where's the fire? Your message said it was urgent," Jacob Carter said.

"Jacob, we need to talk…privately," Hammond said, giving Samuels a pointed look.

"What's wrong? It's not Sam is…" Jacob broke off his face hardening and his eyes glowing angrily. "Goa'uld Kree!" Selmac roared, her eyes glowing angrily as she fumbled for the zat gun worn at her waist.

Samuels eyes flared in response and his hand flew to the small of his back, pulling out the pistol he'd had concealed there. "Kel'shak sholva!" he roared, firing the pistol at the two men. Selmac pushed Hammond to the side grunting as a bullet tore through Jacob's chest pushing the man back. Samuels fired several more times forcing the few SF's in the gateroom to duck for cover. Taking a few last shots at the power box sending showers of sparks and smoke into the room, he turned and ran, leaving confusion and carnage behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam and Teal'c slipped into the unused office on level 13. They'd used the same room over a year ago when they'd wanted to discuss General Bauer in a place that was relatively free from surveillance. The upper levels of the SGC were mostly abandoned, though with the growth of the facility, Sam figured they'd be put into service soon.

"Bout time you two got here," Jack groused. He was standing behind Daniel who was sitting in front of a laptop.

"Stealth and speed are difficult to attain at the same time," Teal'c said.

"Sam, how are you?" Daniel asked, looking up.

"I'm fine, Daniel, thanks. What are you doing?" She sat on the edge of the desk where she could see the screen.

"Jack's got an idea and I'm trying to find proof."

"Sir?"

"Ok. First, we're pretty sure that Bradley is who slipped you the mickey but we can't prove it."

"And since she's dead, we can't exactly ask her who she was working for," Daniel interjected.

"But I doubt that she's doing this out of the goodness of her heart," Jack said.

"So if we follow the money, we can find out who was paying her and pulling her strings," Sam said.

"Right," Daniel answered. "The problem is how to get at it. We can't exactly go through channels."

Sam thought a moment. "Do you have her personnel file?"

"Right here." Jack pushed it towards her. Sam picked it up and read it. "There's nothing in there, we've been over it twice."

"Maybe not. Daniel, do a search." She gave him a web address and he typed it in. "Here." She read off a series of numbers.

"Her social security number? What good does that do?"

"If someone is paying her, I doubt she was stuffing the cash in her mattress. And she doesn't look like the type for an account in the Caymans or somewhere."

"And banks use your social security number for your id number," Jack finished.

"Right."

"Jackpot," Daniel spoke up. The screen flashed and a series of numbers scrolled up the screen. "Two thousand a month for the last three months."

"That is an insignificant amount for one's integrity," Teal'c said.

Jack shrugged. "Everyone has their price. Bradley was just cheap. Does it say where it came from?"

"Click there, Daniel," Sam instructed.

He did as he was told. "Son of a bitch," Jack breathed. "Zetatron Industries," he read.

"Colonel Simmons," Teal'c said. "Is he not in custody?" He looked to Jack.

"Last I knew he was in Leavenworth in solitary confinement."

"We have another snake in the grass," Daniel said, pointing at the screen.

"Samuels?" Sam asked. "I didn't know he was involved with Simmons?"

Jack shrugged. "It makes sense,  I guess. With Simmons out of the game, they had to find a new player."

"Maybe so," Daniel said, "But what…"His question remained unasked as the sirens whooped into life.

'Intruder alert…Intruder alert. Medical team to the gateroom. Colonel O'Neill to the control room.'

Sharing quick glances, the quartet hurried from the room. They quickly made their way down to level 28, pushing past the scattered SF's and medical personnel.

"Lock down the mountain. I want a room to room search!" They heard Hammond order as they ran into the gateroom.

"Dad!" Sam cried hurrying to her father's side.

Janet gave her a quick shocked look then shook her head. "He'll be fine. Selmac should take care of it," she reassured.

"General, what happened?" Jack demanded moving to his CO's side. "Are you all right?"

The general was shakily standing, holding a piece of gauze to a cut on his bare forehead. His normally pristine white shirt was garishly painted with smears of bright red blood. "I'm fine. The blood is Jake's. Colonel, Samuels is apparently a goa'uld. He shot Jacob, then ran. Find him," the man ordered.

"Teal'c," Jack said turning to leave the room. "I want a level to level search. You, you and you, let's go," he said hurrying down the hall.

In his wake, several medical personnel entered the room pushing a pair of gurneys. Sam stood back as they efficiently loaded Jacob's unconscious form onto the narrow cot. "You too, general," Janet ordered.

"I'm fine, doctor."

"You were unconscious for a few moments and you're going to need stitches. Will you come willingly or do I have to strap you to a bed as well?"

"Samuels damaged the power supply to the gate and we have teams off world," he said, moving away.

"We can take care of it, sir," Sam said.

"You are still a patient too, Major," Janet said. " Siler is more than capable of getting the gate back on line.

 Now will the pair of you follow me or do I have to make it an order?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Knowing when to admit defeat, the two officers trailed Janet and her people out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"From what you described, it sounds like Par'ira," Jacob said to the group standing by his infirmary bed. Selmac was repairing the damage from the bullet wound but Janet refused to release the man until she was sure he was totally healed.

"Par'ira?" Sam asked sitting beside him on the bed, taking his hand in her own.

"It's what we use if we have to forcibly separate the symbiote and host. It's a potent muscle relaxant that works on both parties. If a symbiote wants to, it can release a powerful toxin to kill its host. This prevents that," he said.

"But the victim stays conscious," Janet said.

Jake nodded. "It's necessary for the host to be conscious so they can tell us when we've severed all the connections. Usually the host retains the power of speech and can tell us when we've removed all the symbiote's tendrils. But if someone is trying to backwards engineer the serum, they might not know that."

"They're still trying to get the goa'uld out of Conrad," Daniel said. "They just wanted to make sure it works first."

"It's a long story," Jack said in response to Jake's blank look.

"But if they take the symbiote out, they lose their access to its memories," Hammond said from his bed right next to Jake's, a large white bandage decorating his scalp.

"It is possible for the host to retain the goa'uld's memories after separation," Teal'c said. "As Major Carter has Jolinar's."

"Sometimes it works that way, sometimes not. It depends on how the host and symbiote interact," Jake said.

"At least we know who killed Lieutenant Bradley," Janet said, holding up the report she'd received from the Crime Scene Unit. The CSI had found tiny bits of leather snagged on the rock used to kill the lieutenant, leather that matched the glove the SF's found in the trunk of the abandoned staff car Samuels had left behind. That and bloodstains on a uniform proved that the colonel was the woman's murderer.

"And he's going to get away with it," Daniel complained.

"Maybe he'll relocate to Florida," Jack quipped gaining him a round of dirty looks. "What? Like it's never happened before?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seventy miles away, a haggard figure huddled in the dark recesses of a Denver back alley rocking slightly as haunted eyes stared at nothing.

'Stop this.'

"Get out of my head," Bert whispered, the horror that he was host to a goa'uld overwhelming him. He remembered now, staring in amazement and fascination as a shape wormed its way out of the dead Jaffa's uniform, the stab of pain as it jumped at him, how he'd tried to move then been unable to as it took possession. It all made sense, the black outs, the nagging headaches, the little voice of intuition that was really the voice of his captor. The sudden and odd desire to regain entry into the SGC and go through the chaa'ppai, to go home. 

'I have tolerated your dramatics long enough,' the goa'uld said, again disgusted with his choice of a host.

"You…I killed her," Bert said.

'Spare me the melodrama. You enjoyed it.'

Bert thought back. It had felt good to rise above the constraints placed upon him by society. How many times over the years had he wished for revenge upon someone for a slight visited upon him? How often had he watched incompetent men taking the credit for his ideas and using them to rise above him? How many times had he had to remain silent while he was mocked by the likes of O'Neill and Hammond, not daring to speak out because they out ranked him?

It was liberating to act without fear of reprisal, to do something only because he wanted to do it, not because he was ordered to do it.  He no longer needed to measure his actions with respect to his career. He was free, free from it all.

"Who are you?" he asked his liberator.

'I am Zadok. Now if you are done feeling sorry for yourself, we have much to do,' the creature answered.

Samuels stood up clutching the thin jacket of his uniform around him. "What do we need to do?" he asked, his voice stronger.

'First, you can stop talking aloud like some child,' Zadok chastised. 'And second we need to get you out of that ridiculous uniform. Not only is it impractical, but it will hamper our goals.'

'What are our goals,' Bert said, trying to think the question to his symbiote.

'We're going to get off this backwards rock. We're going home,' he said. Maybe this host had potential after all, he thought, steering the body with gentle nudges. The SGC may be out of reach but it wasn't the only way home, just the easiest.

Fin


	4. Dumb Luck

Dumb Luck

By

Denise

He slipped through the lax security of the base, his thoughts torn between anger at how easy it was and joy that, thus far, his presence had been unchallenged.

This was always the fatal flaw of too much security and a 'need to know' attitude. It increased the chances that a person would just accept and not question something odd.

Squaring his shoulders, he strode down the corridors, taking comfort in their familiarity. He knew where he needed to go, as long as they hadn't moved it. No, they wouldn't. It was too big, too bulky to move.

Using a forged pass card, he accessed the secure wing, his eyes easily noting the presence of surveillance cameras in the darkened corridor. He would not have much time, he knew. The guards would notice his intrusion eventually, and seek to eliminate him.

Seeing the large door at the end of the corridor, he picked up the pace.

'Stop,' Zadok said, sensing a feeling that he hadn't felt for so long.

'What?'

'In there,' he directed.

'No. It's at the end of the hall.' Bert insisted.

'In there!' the voice said more forcefully, exerting control to make his host do what he wanted him to do. His body turned and he stood outside the door. He forced the lock, stepping into the room. The only illumination was a pair of aquarium lights over two large, but heavily shielded tanks. Recognizing the creatures imprisoned, he walked over to them, his eyes fixated on the undulating figures.

'Who are they?"

'Children. I do not know from whom they spawned. Why are they here? They cannot communicate in this form."

'Experimentation. Bioresearch,' his host supplied, drawing upon his own memories of participating in such activities.

"Who are you?" a voice cut through the darkness and he spun, frowning as he saw a man imprisoned in a large steel cage. The bars were open on all sides and he could see the most basic of amenities, a cot and sanitary facilities.

"Kree Jaffa. Who do you serve?" Zadok demanded, moving to stand in front of the cage, but staying out of reach of the occupant. He studied the man closely, seeing signs of a lengthy imprisonment in his pale, haggard face, the way the Tau'ri clothing hung on his frame.

"Release me," the Jaffa demanded.

'No. It cannot be.' Zadok stared at the tattoo on the man's forehead, barely visible in the pale blue light.

'What?'

'He is gone, banished.'

'Who?'

"Where is your lord?" The Jaffa stared at him, his eyes narrowing as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Tell me, I command you!"

"Release me and I shall take you to him," he bargained.

'He is not on this planet. We would have heard tales of his greatness.'

'Who's not on this planet?'

'Leave this hassock. He is kek.'

'He can help us," Bert insisted.

'He will hinder us. We must attain our goal.' He turned, abandoning the Jaffa in the cage and turning a deaf ear to the man's words as he called for help. Only the weak would beg in such a fashion. That act alone convinced him that he was right to abandon the Jaffa. He needed allies, not burdens.

They left the room, returning to their original goal of the double doors at the end of the hall. Behind them, they could hear the Jaffa still yelling and they ran, briefly regretting not killing the man.

Just as they opened the door, alarms began to sound and Bert cursed under his breath. He closed the doors and pulled a desk in front of them to delay the pursuers. "No," he said as he turned, his eyes seeing nothing but empty space.

'Where is it?'

'I don't know. It's supposed to be here.'

'It is not here,' Zadok said, unable to hide his frustration with his host's continued ineptness.

'They must have moved it then.'

Zadok cursed, rage racing through him as he realized that his goal was once again slipping from his grasp. Seven years. For seven years he'd been trying to find a way off this cursed planet and back to his brethren among the stars.

In the beginning when he'd first sought refuge in the body of his host he'd been too young to exert control upon him. He'd spent the next couple of years struggling to survive. Forced to blend before his time, he lacked not only the ability to control, but to also sustain himself efficiently in the hostile environment of a host. Time and again over the next few years, he'd found himself under attack from the host's body, years of trials that he knew had weakened him.

He'd survived by using the man's body against him, building up layers of scar tissue to protect him from the antibodies of his host. That survival came at a price. He was now imprisoned in his host's body, unable to exert complete and total control all the time and likely unable to ever leave this body and survive.

His only hope was to get off this planet and seek more of his own kind, and hopefully find help in leaving this body and finding a newer, better host.

He was careful to keep those plans from Bert, however. His host knew that he wished to leave Earth, but had no knowledge of what his fate would be once that goal was attained.

'Where would they move it to?' Zadok asked, trying to remain calm as he cursed himself for his mistakes. Perhaps he should have revealed himself to his host earlier. Maybe that would have kept the man from making the errors he'd made, the greatest of which had been when he'd come into contact with the Tok'ra and been exposed as a goa'uld.

That revelation was why they were now outcasts, hunted and chased. His inability to leave his host meant that he could not seek a newer, unrecognized face. And it also prevented them from using any means of mass transit and that they had to limit their contact with other humans. Which was why it had taken them nearly three years to make their way to Russia, seeking to use the stargate there to get off-world.

They'd missed their opportunity, arriving mere weeks after the base had been dismantled and the stargate packed away, buried so deeply that no one knew where it was.

And so they'd turned around, abandoning Russia and seeking to return to the United States and the stargate there.

'The SGC maybe? Maybe something happened to their gate and they needed it,' Bert suggested.

He heard a noise in the hall and Zadok knew that they were out of time. His eyes scanning the room, they settled on a couple of items sitting out on a work table. Unable to believe his good luck, he hurried over, gladly picking up the alien device.

'What is it?'

'A weapon. One that is far superior to your guns,' Zadok said, sliding his host's hand into the device. Even though he had never used the ribbon weapon, he knew how to use it, the knowledge a gift to him from his ancestors. He shoved the other item on the table into his pocket and turned to face the doors, his arm at the ready.

The door burst open and he activated it, the force pushing the surprised guards off their feet. They crumpled to the floor and he hurried past them, making his way out of the building.

He heard a sharp crack and was thrown to his knees, a searing pain cutting through his back. He forced himself up, pushing the pain away in his desperation to escape. He got outside and ran into their parked car, the doors hanging open. He drew upon his host's knowledge, getting into the vehicle and putting it into gear. He drove quickly through the base and left the facility, the fact that he was thought to be one of the security force no doubt aiding his progress.

Driving off into the desert night, he turned off the car's headlights and manipulated his host's eyes to better see in the darkness, all thoughts of leaving Earth temporarily put aside in his desperate struggle to survive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I need to go," Sam said, despite her words, remaining where she was, leaning against Eric's side.

"It's early," he protested as the credits rolled on the movie they were watching.

"Yeah," she agreed, sighing as she sat up. "But I have an early lecture."

"You do?"

"Yeah, 0800," she confirmed, gently pushing away and getting to her feet. She felt for and slipped her feet into her sandals, stretching a bit to relieve the stiff muscles in her back.

Not in the mood to go out, they'd decided to have a night in, ordering a pizza and watching a movie on pay-per-view. They'd been doing this a lot over the past six months, their dating moving from dinner in a restaurant to evenings in, alternating between his and her place. They took turns cooking or ordering in, taking time to get more comfortable around each other.

She still felt guilty lying to him so much, her hectic mission schedule of late leading to some creative stories on her behalf. Fortunately his job demanded some odd hours and frequent travel as well, so they were nearly even on cancellations.

"I thought school was out," he said, getting to his feet.

"A lecturer's work is never done," she said, shooting him a smile, wishing for a minute that she'd come up with something better for her cover story. Then again, she hadn't exactly been looking to set things up for the long term at the time. "How about tomorrow night?" she suggested as he escorted her to the door. "Maybe a movie?"

"The mall on a Friday night?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you have a death wish?"

Sam laughed. "Not lately. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen opens tomorrow."

"Aah." He nodded. "That Sean Connery fetish of yours."

Sam shot him a devilish look. "Of course," she said, slipping into a bad Scottish accent.

"Sure, sounds good," he said, opening the door for her. "Give you a call about six?"

"I'll talk to you then," she said, leaning in to give him a slow kiss. "Good night."

"Night," he said, returning the kiss then standing back, watching her make her way down the flight of steps from his second floor apartment to the parking lot below.

She got in her car, seeing him close the door as soon as he saw that she was safely ensconced in the silver Volvo. She put her car in gear and backed out of the space, making her way into traffic and towards her own house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Sam walked into the briefing room, not surprised to find Teal'c already seated at the large, oak table.

She nodded good morning, and then made her way to the credenza, pouring a glass of water before taking her seat, setting her folder down in front of her. This briefing should be rather short, she thought. They weren't scheduled to ship out to P3Y834 for another two days. Which would give her plenty of time to come up with some story to tell Eric. Unless the fates decided to be truly kind and he'd get sent on a business trip as well.

"Major Carter," Teal'c acknowledged.

"Teal'c. Sleep well?" she asked conversationally. Although he'd never be called a chatter, she knew that he was working on learning more 'small talk'.

"I did," he answered. "I have noticed that you have not been working as many hours as you once did," he said after a second.

"What?"

"It used to be quite common to discover you working in your laboratory until quite late in the night. Now there are many such nights when you depart the SGC before even Colonel O'Neill."

Sam stared at him, surprised that he'd even noticed. She had been going home earlier in the last few months, largely because she had a reason to go home.

Her work hadn't suffered, she'd made sure of that, and there had been more than one occasion when she'd had to stay late, not to mention the odd overnight mission. All in all, she'd thought she'd done a pretty good job of juggling everything, although it shouldn't have surprised her that Teal'c had noticed. He was usually the most observant among them now that Jonas was gone. She'd have to tell him, she knew. Tell all of them.

She'd just been putting it off after telling Janet, justifying her decision with the fact that she didn't know how things were going to work out. And why open herself to uncomfortable explanations if they broke up.

Then as the months went on, she'd meant to invite Eric to the colonel's annual Memorial Day picnic, which was cancelled by a mission. Then the General's Fourth of July party that she'd went to alone after Eric had been called away at the last minute to do something at a station in Alaska of all places.

Now she knew she couldn't put it off much longer. The months were adding up and she needed to introduce Eric to the other men in her life, or there would be some very hurt feelings all around.

"Really?" she asked. "Has aah, has anyone else noticed?"

He stared at her for a second, and then turned his head just as General Hammond's office door opened. Almost on cue, the colonel and Daniel walked into the briefing room and Sam got to her feet, smiling at the general.

"As you were, people," he said. The rest of her team took their seats and the general sat down, his expression grave. "I'm afraid your mission to P3Y834 has been reassigned," he said, handing O'Neill a folder.

"Why, sir?" Jack asked.

"Last night, at approximately 0145, there was a security breach at Area 51."

"I don't see why that's our problem," Daniel said.

"It is because of the nature of the breach," Hammond said. "Last year, Teal'c and Jonas captured three Jaffa off a Hatak ship in Earth's orbit. Those three men were sent to Area 51 for study and interrogation. All of but one of them has since died, their symbiotes matured and lacking a replacement, they perished."

"Couldn't they do the tretonin thing like they did for Teal'c and Bra'tac?" Daniel asked.

Hammond shook his head. "They refused the drug. And since we have extremely limited quantities, the decision was made to preserve our supply for Teal'c and the other renegade Jaffa that wish it."

"What about the breach, sir?" Jack asked.

"Someone attempted to free the last Jaffa, and take custody of the two symbiotes," the general reported. "The attempt failed, all he managed to get away with is a ribbon device and a healing device."

"Is not Area 51 a high security area?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes," Hammond answered. "However, the scientists working on the two devices thought that three locked doors were enough of a deterrent. And the assailant used an Air Force uniform to gain admittance."

"It doesn't make any sense," Sam said. "Both of those things are worthless to anyone that doesn't have or has had a symbiote. Unless it's some reporter trying to make a name for themselves."

"Or a goa'uld," Jack said, causing the others to turn their heads.

"Samuels," Sam said flatly, remembering all too well their past two run-ins with the former Air Force officer.

"I'm afraid so," Hammond confirmed. He pulled pictures out of his folder and handed them out. "The security cameras got a good picture of him. He's changed a bit, but is still recognizable."

Sam studied the 8x10 print out of a digital picture. It was taken in a hall of one of the buildings of Area 51, obviously at night. It was a bit grainy but she could still make out the features on the man's face.

His hair was longer, slightly more so than regulation, and his facial hair was definitely not up to par. He was dressed in an Air Force uniform, although, unless her imagination was playing tricks on her, it was a decidedly ill-fitting one.

"I thought he'd conveniently dropped off the face of the Earth," Jack said, not bothering to hide his dislike of the man. Sam knew a lot of that had to do with her. The last time Samuels had surfaced had been to use a nurse assigned to the SGC for some research, and Sam as the subject. She'd nearly died from the drug the woman had injected her with, technically did die enough that she ended up on the autopsy table. That little run-in had left her with a scar on her shoulder and a near phobia of anything medical, one that even years later, she hadn't quite been able to shake. To this day, she refused to go down to the level the morgue was on.

"It appears we haven't been that lucky," Hammond said.

"I don't get it," Daniel said. "It's been years, why resurface now? And why break into Area 51? Isn't that sort of like robbing a donut shop?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Samuels' goal has always been to gain control of the SGC," Teal'c said.

"Or the stargate," Sam said.

"What?"

"Colonel, what's the one thing a goa'uld trapped on Earth would want?"

"To go home," Daniel answered.

"Right. And if he's been as out of the loop as we think he has, he wouldn't know that we don't have a spare stargate anymore. Or even if he did, he could be trying to infiltrate the SGC via Area 51. I mean, we transfer stuff back and forth all the time. And since Area 51 is a secure facility, it could be easy to smuggle something from there to here," Sam said.

"Unless he has some backing that my sources aren't aware of, he's totally alone," Hammond said. "The NID's just as interested with catching him as we are."

"Well, if he wants to get off-world, he'll have to come here," Daniel said. "Unless there's a third stargate somewhere that no one's noticed."

"We want to be pro-active on this. The simple fact that he's now armed with classified weapons eliminates our choice to wait and see," the general said. "We have evidence that places Samuels in or near Las Vegas so our theory is that he'll be making his way from there to here. Our plan is to capture and if necessary, neutralize him as soon as possible. I don't think I need to tell you that his very existence is a security risk, made worse by the weapons he's carrying and his possible desperation to get off Earth."

"It won't be easy to track someone over that kind of distance, sir," Jack said. "Hell, as long as he doesn't use a credit card, he won't leave a track."

"And it's not like we can put out an APB and plaster his face all over America's Most Wanted," Sam said.

"We do have one ace in the hole," Hammond said. "I just got off the phone with the CIA. They have a satellite that is capable of detecting radiation from space, it was used to spy on other countries, and probably still is," he said, muttering at the end. "The point is, naquadah exhibits a very distinctive radioactive signature."

"The amount of naquadah in a person's blood is negligible," Teal'c said.

"But not when you combine it with the ribbon device and the healing stone," Sam spoke up.

"That's what we're hoping," Hammond finished. "The problem is, the satellite is only over head for a few minutes each day, and the data needs to be analyzed, so we won't have the ability to track him in real time."

"But we should get a daily update," Jack said.

"That's what we're hoping," Hammond confirmed. "I've made arrangements for transportation to Area 51. The plane will leave in three hours. Since this will be an undercover operation, you're to be in civilian clothes and try to keep as low of a profile as possible," he warned, shooting them a glare.

"Yes, sir," Jack acknowledged. Hammond got to his feet and they followed suit, watching him make his way back into his office. Jack looked at his watch. "Three hours puts the plane leaving at 1100. Carter, Daniel, why don't we go pack. Teal'c, you pack too. We'll meet back here at 1000, check out our weapons and get to Peterson."

"Yes, sir," Sam answered. Making an allowance for traffic, she figured she had to leave the mountain in less than an hour to have time to pack and return. Barely enough time to shut down the experiments she had running. At least she couldn't ever call her job boring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eric opened the door to his apartment, cursing softly as he struggled to juggle the take out dinner and some other groceries he'd picked up. He knew he was being a bit presumptuous but he was pretty sure that Sam would agree to his plans, grabbing dinner at home then catching the movie. He put the food down and moved towards his answering machine, whistling between his teeth and he crossed the room. The red light was flashing and he hoped that it was a message from Sam, especially if she'd gotten the little surprise he'd ordered earlier this morning.

She wasn't one for romantic gestures, which made it all the more fun for him. They got along well in that respect, neither of them being the type to enjoy clubbing or hitting the bars. In fact, they both seemed to prefer quiet time alone with each other, usually watching TV or checking out some of the area's natural wonders like Garden of the Gods or the Royal Gorge Bridge. They'd even gone to Cripple Creek a couple of weeks ago, spending the evening visiting the casinos and walking up and down the main street.

Pressing the button on his machine he rolled his eyes as he listened to a couple of telemarketers and hang-ups.  Finally he heard the voice he was waiting for.

Eric, I'm sorry, something came up at work. I've got to take a trip out of town and…well I don't know how long it'll be, probably a few days. I'll give you a call when I can. Sorry about tonight.

Listening to the machine rewind the tape, he made a face and sighed. Well, there went his plans up in smoke. And not a mention of his surprise, which also meant that it was a waste.

Slightly dejected, he went into the kitchen intent upon putting the groceries away. Oh well, he thought, at least he'd have dinner and lunch…and maybe breakfast if he was in a really odd mood.

The phone rang and he went back into the living room, snagging the cordless receiver from between the couch cushions. "Anderson."

"Look who's home," a familiar voice said.

He silently groaned, plopping down on the couch. "Whit, I am not in the mood," he groused.

"We got a lead on  our runner," his contact said.

"Like your last 'lead'" Eric shot back. "Do you know that it's still snowing in Siberia in July?"

"This one's rock solid. We've got visual confirmation. I've got a courier on the way over right now. He's got the information and your plane ticket."

"Whitlow, has it ever occurred to you that  maybe I'm tired of being at your beck and call?" Eric groused. "That I just might have something else to do other than sitting around the house, waiting for the phone to ring?"

"You going soft on me?" Whitlow asked.

"No."

"Eric, I'd assign it to someone else, but you've been on this case for the past couple of years. I thought you'd want to finish it."

"I do," Eric said. "I just…I want to take a break after this one," he requested.

"You sure? You're not gonna get bored hanging out in the mountains, playing with the bears?"

"Bears are more fun than humans," Eric shot back.

"Ok," Whitlow agreed. "You bag this one, and I'll lose your number for a while," he promised.

"Thanks," Eric said. "I'll call you when I get there." He hung up the phone and tossed it beside him on the couch. Sighing he leaned back, his eyes catching the still full sacks. Now why the hell couldn't Whitlow have called BEFORE he bought groceries.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zadok heard the distant sound of an helicopter and crouched down, trying to maintain as low of a profile as possible. He cursed his host's choice of uniform, the blue color not adequate camouflage for the browns and tans of the desert, even after he'd coated the material liberally with dirt and dust.

They'd abandoned the vehicle within miles of the base, once they'd realized that it was easily tracked in the open territory and set off afoot, the darkness of the night aiding their flight.

Now the sun had risen providing a dual obstacle of making them more visible and weakening his host with its oppressive warmth. Zadok knew that they had mere hours to escape this desert or his host would be too weak to continue.

The sound faded and he got to his feet, his host struggling and stumbling, weakened by the physical injury. The guard had shot them, fortunately the bullet had passed through the flesh of his host's side, producing a non-fatal but no less painful and draining injury.

His weakness was augmented by his lack of ability to fully control and heal his host, the most he was capable of doing to deaden the pain and  try to stave off infection.

His host was not fighting him at the moment, instead cowering in the corner of his mind, curled up like a small child. He'd been afraid of this happening, of his host being unable to withstand the privilege of being one with a god.

Some humans were not suitable hosts, and this one seemed to be one of those weak creatures.

'God?' Bert asked softly, acknowledging the physical world for the first time in hours.

'Yes, I am a god,' Zadok said.

'I saw gods once. They were so beautiful, big and powerful.'

'Where did you see gods?' Zadok asked, intrigued. His host had always told him that Earth lacked physical gods.

'They were pretty and white, they sang to me, danced for me,' Bert remembered, his body relaxing with the familiar and obviously pleasant memories.

'Where were they?' Zadok asked gently, knowing from past experience if he pushed his host too hard, the man would retreat totally.

'There,' he said, directing his eyes towards the battered green and white sign. 'They live in Las Vegas.'

'Then we shall go there,' Zadok said, forcing his host to his feet. He would go to these gods, throw himself upon their mercy and seek rescue from the untenable position he now found himself in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack dropped his luggage off in his office and headed towards the briefing room, belated remembering the one thing he forgot to tell his people, where to meet. He knew they were somewhere in the facility, he'd recognized both Carter's and Daniel's cars in the lot as he'd parked his truck.

Feeling slightly out of place in his khakis and leather jacket, he summoned the elevator, riding it down to level twenty-seven. Whistling between his teeth, he walked into the briefing room, the voices of the rest of his team telling him that they'd had the same idea about a meeting place.

"Wow, Sam. Those are gorgeous," he heard Daniel say.

"I have not known you to receive such a gift before," Teal'c said.

"How did they get down here?" Jack walked into the room as Daniel asked his question, pausing for a moment at the unfamiliar sight of his team standing there, all admiring a large bouquet of fresh flowers that were sitting on the table.

"They were delivered to the Air Force Academy. General Kerrigan was nice enough to have them sent over here," Sam said, opening a small envelope.

"Got a secret admirer, Carter?" Jack teased.

"No, sir. Not quite," she answered, quickly reading the envelope and shoving it into her pocket. He could see that she was embarrassed, her cheeks were flushed and she looked slightly uncomfortable.

Glancing at his watch, he fought the urge to tease her further, they needed to be at Peterson in less than an hour. "You don't have enough time to run those home before we have to leave," he said. "And I doubt Hammond would like a centerpiece."

"I can take them down to my lab, sir. I need to get my luggage anyway," she said.

Jack nodded. "Hammond's got us a staff car. Let's meet up top in fifteen."

Sam picked up her flowers and left the room. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c followed her to the elevators, sharing a look at the amused and interested glances from the personnel they passed. The SGC grapevine was going to be buzzing in a few minutes. Hell, if he'd have known they'd get this much enjoyment out of a mysterious bouquet of flowers, he'd have sent some years ago, just to be ornery.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam stepped off the airplane, automatically reaching for her sunglasses in her jacket pocket and taking a deep breath of the dry desert air. Thanks to the vagarities of time zones, they'd actually arrived in Nevada about the same time they'd left Colorado. And Nevada in late July was definitely not a place for shrinking violets, or those that couldn't take bake oven heat.

She saw Jack stop at her side, his eyes too shrouded by dark glasses. "I see Area 51's up to its usual level of coordination," he groused, meaning the lack of the promised vehicle to meet them. "I'm gonna go check at the hanger," he said, setting down his luggage.

"Yes, sir," Sam answered, watching him walk away. She turned to see Daniel and Teal'c also deplaning. She set her bag down beside Jack's and stepped away a bit, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She dialed Eric's number, still not sure if she should thank him or give him hell for wasting his money.

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, and a total surprise. She honestly couldn't remember the last time someone had sent her flowers, she just regretted that not only had it taken extraordinary measures on General Kerrigan's behalf to get them to her, but also if the good general hadn't interfered, she may have never gotten them.

As beautiful as they were, they also stood for the lies that were between them. Lies and secrets that were so much a part of her life that she didn't know if she'd ever get away from them.

They were the same secrets that had nearly cost her father his life and, prior to his cancer, only served to be a convenient excuse not to attempt to breach the differences between them.

She heard his voice and opened her mouth to talk, only to snap it shut when she realized she'd gotten his answering machine. Waiting until the end of his greeting she glanced over, grimacing at the sight of the colonel walking back from the hanger, a car in the distance speaking to his success at solving the transportation issue. Realizing that she was nearly out of time, she impatiently waited for the tone. "Eric, hi. I'm sorry I missed you. I got your flowers, they're absolutely lovely. Thank you." The car pulled to a stop and the colonel waved impatiently. "I gotta go. I'll call you later on." She hung up the phone and hurried forward as Teal'c picked up her luggage and stowed it in the trunk.

Grateful that the driver had at least turned on the air conditioning, she slid into the back seat. Knowing that the driver likely knew nothing about why they were here, she let the boys carry the small talk and  contented herself with looking out the window as the desert flashed by.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eric checked his watch and sighed loudly, taking no small measure of satisfaction when the secretary looked up, giving him an uncomfortable look. It'd been like this for the past two hours, ever since he arrived at the base and been shown into the general's office, only to find, instead of the welcome he'd expected, a distinctly cold, star-clad shoulder.

He guessed there was some sort of clearance issue and he'd tried to call Whitlow to clear it up, only to find more frustration when his contact was out of contact. Damn the military and their obsessive need for secrecy. This crap was exactly why he'd gotten out of the army.

This whole thing frustrated him to no end. He'd spent the better part of the last three years on the trail of a traitor, following the man across the Russian continent, nearly catching up with him a couple of times, but never quite being able to take him into custody before he vanished again, slipping into the faceless world of the homeless and downtrodden.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had an annoying need to finish what he'd started, he'd just write the man off. Yes, he'd went AWOL and defected, but there was no sign that he'd made contact with anyone, pretty much eliminating the speculation that the man was a spy and making it look more like he was simply an officer who'd snapped and decided to leave the Air Force without bothering to fill out the right form in triplicate.

Reaching the limit of his patience, he got to his feet. To hell with this. He'd go find a hotel and contact Whitlow. Maybe he'd come back tomorrow, if Whitlow could promise that he'd actually get in to talk to the good general.

The office door opened and he stood back, watching a tall, lanky man walk into the room, trailed by two other and…Sam?

"Colonel Jack O'Neill. We've got a meeting with General Martinson."

"Yes, sir. He's expecting you," the receptionist said.

"Sam?" Eric asked, stepping forward.

She turned, her eyes going wide as they focused on him. "Eric? What are…I thought you were in Colorado," she stuttered.

"Obviously not," he said, looking at her appraisingly. She and the others were in their civvies. Not how folks usually dressed when the visited other bases. Her companions were a mixed bunch. Colonel O'Neill was an older man, a fact confirmed by his salt and pepper hair. Tall and thin and with an air about him that spoke not only of command, but also of an officer who'd put in no small amount of time in active service and probably combat.

Standing behind him was a large black man, his ball cap pulled low on his forehead, in blatant disregard to normal etiquette. Eric could see hardy muscles under his leather jacket and his very demeanor spoke of quiet danger and silent strength.

The third man had a different image, capable and intelligent, but not as physically intimidating as the black man.

"Carter?" O'Neill asked, stepping forward. "Friend of yours?"

"Sir." She glanced at him, discomfort plain on her face. "This is Eric, Eric Anderson. I aah, I know him from the Springs."

"Really?" the colonel said, frowning. He looked Eric from head to toe, blatantly studying him. Refusing to be intimidated, Eric met his gaze, staring him down.

"Sir, the general will see you now," the receptionist said, breaking the eye contact.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," O'Neill said, looking away. The quartet moved towards the door to the general's office and Eric followed them, stopping short when the lieutenant stood up.

"Only them, sir," she said apologetically. Sam shot him an apologetic look as she followed the three men into the general's office.

The door closed behind them and Eric sat back down, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared at the closed door, his frustration growing by the minute.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Any idea where he's headed?" the colonel asked, his sharp look pulling Sam's thoughts from the man outside and to the one in front of her. General Martinson was a portly man, his slightly florid face and the near arctic temperature of his office hinting that he definitely wasn't in Nevada for his health.

"Unless he had a death wish, he headed towards Vegas," the general said. "There's nothing out here but gilas, rattlers and rocks."

"He'd be able to blend right in with the tourists," Daniel said.

"Yeah. And if he needed money, he could just roll one. A drunk tourist with a pocket full of cash is an easy victim."

"I still don't understand why he bothered with the Jaffa," Daniel said. "He could have made it out clean if he hadn't have taken the time to chat."

"He likely sought an ally," Teal'c said. "A potential First Prime to be employed as a body guard."

"Or even host," Sam said, feeling that she really needed to contribute to the conversation.

"Like K'Tano," Jack said.

"Yes, sir."

"It's possible," Martinson said. "All the Jaffa would tell us is that he asked Samuels to help him escape and that Samuels refused."

"Forging an alliance would be a most efficient way to gain intelligence," Teal'c agreed.

"You said they'd been a prisoner for over a year," Daniel reminded.

"Samuals' goa'uld has been out of touch for seven," Sam countered. "A little advantage is better than none."

Jack looked at his watch. "We've got about two hours until the satellite is in position," he said. "Hopefully it'll give us a clue."

"We'll give you whatever backup we can," the general promised, his willingness to help no doubt aided by the embarrassment of his facility being breached. "But aah, bear in mind, the local PD's a little touchy about us stepping on their turf."

"We'll remember. Thanks," Jack said.

The general stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. "If my men were right, they think they winged him, so maybe that'll slow him down for you. I do have teams combing the desert. If he's out there, we'll find him."

"Sir, a goa'uld has more endurance than a normal human. If the injury was minor enough, it could be healed by now," Sam said.

"Well, regardless, I hope you catch him," the general said.

"We do too, sir," Jack said. "We've got a score to two to settle with the good colonel.

We'll let you know what happens," he promised, shaking the man's hand.

"And I'll do the same," Martinson promised.

Sam followed her team from the room, not surprised to find Eric still in the waiting room.

He gave her an odd look, then started to walk past them, obviously still intent on talking to the general.

"Sir, I'm sorry. The general is in the middle of an important phone call," the lieutenant said, deliberately pulling the door shut.

"There's a big surprise," Eric quipped, his tone anything but cheerful. He knew he was being stonewalled, anyone with half a brain could figure that one out.

The rest of SG-1 filed out of the office and Sam paused in the doorway, torn between following her team or finding out what he was doing here.

"Carter? You coming?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Sam, wait," Eric said, stepping towards her. "We should talk."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But not here."

"Why not here?" he countered. "You're here, I'm here. General Martinson has been ignoring me for two hours…what's a little longer?"

"Two hours?" she asked. "You've been here for two hours?"

"At least."

"And you flew commercial I would imagine."

"So?"

"So, were you going to tell me you went to Nevada before or after you stood me up in…three hours?" she asked softly, keeping her voice low. So that's what the flowers had been, a 'gee, I'm gonna blow you off' gesture. And what kind of lies were he going to tell her this time? How many times had he lied to her in the past? How many of his business trips did he really go on?

"Sam—"

"Excuse me, sir. The general will see you now," the lieutenant interrupted. Eric shot her a startled look, then turned back to Sam.

"It's really not a good thing to keep generals waiting," she said, turning on her heel and walking out of the room, not even acknowledging Jack as she walked by him.

She could see Daniel and Teal'c down at the end of the hall and she deliberately took a few calming breaths. She could hear the colonel's footsteps coming up behind her and she slowed a bit, waiting for him to fall into step beside her. She knew he'd say something and figured that she might as well get it out of the way before they rejoined the others and she had even more questions to answer.

"Umm…tell me to butt out if this is none of my business but…"

"Butt out, sir, please," she interrupted. "I apologize for what happened in there. It won't happen again."

"There's nothing to apologize for, at least I don't think so. Who is he?"

She stopped walking, running her hand through her hair. "A friend." He raised his eyebrow. "A good friend," she clarified.

"Mister Flowers good friend?"

"Yes, sir," she answered, cursing the slight flush she could feel staining her cheeks.

"Ya know," he said after a second. "Technically you stood him up too."

Sam shook her head. "I called before we left."

"And he didn't?"

"And he left before we did."

"You don't know that."

"Unless he's invented a time machine, if he's been here two hours then he had to have left Colorado two hours before we did," she countered, not willing to let the argument go.

Jack sighed. "Hammond'll be contacting us with the satellite report pretty soon," he said, changing the subject. "Why don't we go find some food before then?"

Sam nodded and they continued down the hall, meeting up with Daniel and Teal'c, before they left Area 51 and headed towards Las Vegas.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zadok coldly stripped the clothing off the unconscious man and stood up, scanning to see if he'd been observed. They'd been most fortunate in encountering a solitary driver, and even more fortunate that the man was the type to stop and give aid to bedraggled strangers. Foolish weaklings like him deserved to perish.

He dressed, after using a first aid kit he'd found in the man's trunk to dress the gunshot wound on his host's side. Getting into the stolen car, he drove off, the city visible upon the horizon. And attainable goal now that he had a means of conveyance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel scooted his chair in, allowing Teal'c to get out behind him and head to the buffet for the fifth time. In contrast, Sam was still working half-heartedly on her first plate of food. He looked to Jack who shrugged slightly, either having no idea what was wrong with their friend, or not in the mood to share his knowledge.

"I'm gonna go check in with Hammond," Jack said. "We should be getting that report pretty soon." He got to his feet. "Don't let Teal'c eat them out of house and home," he said. "I'll be back."

He left them alone and Daniel fiddled a bit, glancing at Teal'c who was still filling his plate. "I met him before, didn't I?" he asked, startling Sam a bit.

"What?"

"We ran into him in Manitou."

"Yeah," she said, abandoning her pretense at eating.

"How long have you been seeing him?"

"We, aah, we met last September, when we saw him in Manitou, that was the first I'd seen of him since then," she confessed, the flush on her face telling him that this Eric guy wasn't just a casual acquaintance.

"Good for you," he said.

"What?" she asked him, clearly surprised.

"Hey, it's not like we expect you to be a nun or something," he said, kind of enjoying the embarrassed look on her face. "I am surprised that you didn't say anything, though," he said as Teal'c sat back down, his plate heaped with items from the dessert bar.

Sam shrugged. "At first, I didn't want to say anything. We only met once so…what was the big deal," she said, seemingly growing more comfortable with discussing it.

"This is the reason you do not labor ceaselessly in your laboratory?" Teal'c asked, taking a large bite of a rice krispy bar.

Sam shrugged. "You didn't know he was going to be here," Daniel said, figuring out the reason for the tension.

Sam shook her head. "No. I thought he was still in Colorado. And I have no idea what he's doing talking to the commanding officer of Area 51," she admitted.

"Neither does Hammond," Jack said, startling all of them. They'd been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed him returning to the restaurant. He reclaimed his seat, scooting in so they could talk quietly. "Whoever your friend is, he's got pull. Martinson's been ordered to tell him about Samuels."

"Everything?" Daniel asked.

"Not quite," Jack answered. "Everything but the little parasite issue." He turned to Sam. "Carter…what do you know about this guy?"

"Jack," Daniel protested.

"Daniel, it's ok," Sam said. "As far as I knew, he designed software for TV stations. I don't know what interest he could have in Samuels."

"We need to know," Jack said seriously.

"Colonel?"

"He's hunting a snakehead, Carter. We need to know if it's just a coincidence or if he's involved in something he shouldn't be."

"Sir, I don't even know where he is," Sam protested.

Jack pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. "He left contact info with Martinson. It's about two blocks down the strip." He handed the paper to Sam. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"

"No, sir. I'll be fine," she said, getting to her feet.

Daniel watched her leave then turned back to Jack. "That's not fair, Jack," he said.

"Daniel?"

"You're using her."

"He could have used her first," he said.

"Jack."

"Daniel, I don't want it to be true," he said earnestly. "But the simple fact that he knows her, and he's showed up here, with the same objective as us, is a little fishy."

Daniel shook his head. "I don't think so. Sam said she's been seeing him for almost a year."

"Which is about how long Conrad tried to get her medical information before he took matters into his own hand," Jack said.

"Your gut is wrong this time," he insisted. "I don't know what he's doing here but I think his relationship is just a coincidence."

"I hope you're right," Jack said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eric lay back on the hard bed and pulled one of the thin pillows up to cushion his head. He grabbed the remote and changed the channels on the TV, trying to find something to entertain him, and to take his mind off the events of the day.

He still didn't know what in the hell she was doing in Nevada. He'd tried to get information from General Martinson, but had hit a three starred brick wall. Evidentially,  the general had finally gotten a hold of Whitlow and gotten the clearance to tell Eric about Samuels, but the man hadn't told him anything more than he already knew, that the Lt. Colonel had breached security then run… with no indication as to why he'd risked capture.

He picked up his cell phone and stared at it. If he knew Sam, she had it with her. He should call her, find out where she was, and find out what she was doing here. His phone rang and he dropped it, cursing as it bounced across the carpet.

He fumbled for it, trying to pick it up and answer it before it went into voice mail. "Hello?" he said, his voice more harsh than he'd intended.

"Eric?"

"Sam," he said, recognizing her voice.

"Yeah. I aah, I was wondering if I could come up?"

"You're downstairs?" he asked, instinctively getting to his feet and going towards the window, as if he could actually see her. How had she found him? There were hundreds of hotels in Vegas? And he wasn't in one of the casino hotels, but a small national chain.

"Yeah. I umm…unless you'd rather come down and maybe we could go for a walk or something," she suggested.

"I'm in 532," he said, sensing that whatever they were going to talk about, it was something not quite suited for public display.

"Ok, I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

He hung up his phone and quickly looked over his room, his unease at the impending conversation making him feel like he needed to straighten the already tidy room.

In a couple of minutes, there was a knock at the door and he opened it. "Hey," he said.

"Hey." She stood there, one hand clutching her wrist in front of her. "Can I—" she nodded and he stepped back, letting her walk into the room.

He closed the door behind her and stood there for a second, watching as she walked across the room, looking out the window. "Nice view," she quipped, talking in the construction zone across the street. In a couple of years he knew the view from the room would be yet another fantastical casino.

"Yeah, well, not here for the view."

"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly, turning to face him.

"Who wants to know," he shot back. "You or your CO?"

"Both," she said honestly.

"I'm working."

"I'm not up on Area 51, but I don't think they're starting their own TV station," she said.

"Sam—"

"Eric," she interrupted. "I need to know what you're doing here."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "Or what? Gonna sic your friends on me? Or is it now a Federal Offense to visit an old friend?"

"You're not visiting an old friend," she said. "What's your interest in Lieutenant Colonel Samuels?" she asked.

"Ex-Lieutenant Colonel," he corrected. "I would say that after three years of being AWOL, his career is pretty much over."

"Why are you looking for him?" she insisted.

"Why are YOU looking for him?" he countered.

"I asked first," she shot back.

"I was here first."

"Damnit Eric," she cursed, raising her voice.  "You have no idea what you're getting into!"

"Why don't you tell me."

"It's classified."

"Oh that's convenient," he said sarcastically.

"Maybe a lot of things have been convenient," she said bitterly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you follow me or was it just luck that you bumped into me last year?" she challenged.

"What?"

"Who are you working for? Zetatron? The NID?" she asked. "Was sleeping with me part of your assignment or just a fringe benefit?"

He stared at her for a moment, shocked by the hurt and bitterness in her eyes. She wasn't just being dramatic, she honestly believed her accusations. "I'm an independent contractor," he said softly. "My assignment  is to find Albert Samuels and return him to the Air Force to face charges of desertion and possibly treason. I've been looking for him on and off for a couple of years. My source had a report putting him at Area 51, which is why I was there," he said.

She stared at him for a minute, her eyes narrowed and appraising, like she was trying to determine if he was telling the truth. "I don't know who Zetatron is, but I don't work for the NID," he said. "What do you know about him?" he asked.

"More than you do," she shot back cryptically.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. How does a lecturer from the Air Force Academy end up chasing down a deserter?"

"It's my job."

"And this is my job," he replied, his voice just as angry as hers.

"Eric, you have no idea what you're dealing with," she warned.

"Then tell me," he demanded.

"I can't."

"And I can't just let him go. I have a job to do, and unless you can give me a damned good reason why, I'm gonna do it."

She stared at him for a few more seconds, then crossed the room, coming to stand right in front of him. "Leave Samuels be," she warned. "You're messing with things that you have no idea about."

"I can take care of myself," he said, frowning at her warning.

"I hope so," she said, staring at him for a second before she turned on her heel and walked out of his room, closing the door quietly behind her.

He stared at the closed door for a minute before sitting down on the bed, her words echoing through his brain. What in the hell was she so worried about?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam walked down the strip, not noticing the fading warmth of the afternoon sun, or the throngs of gawking tourists around her. Instead, her mind was centered on the man she'd just left, and all the things he'd told her. Independent contractor. What the hell did that mean? What was he, some sort of mercenary? And who was he? Was Eric even his real name? Or was that a lie too?

Someone bumped into her and she turned, her hand instinctively reaching for her cell phone and wallet, the warnings about pickpockets still fresh in her mind.

Finding her possessions safe, she frowned as another feeling crept down her spine. Feeling her heart lurch, she fought the urge to reach for her gun as she scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. He was here. She could sense him, feel his presence.

Her eyes skittered from face to face trying to recognize the Lieutenant Colonel she'd last seen in person five years ago.

If he was still in Samuels and hadn't hopped hosts in the past few hours of course. Her cell phone trilled and she jumped, reaching for it as her eyes continued to scan. "Carter," she said.

"Carter, you ok?" she heard Jack ask.

"Sir?"

"It's been two hours. We were just….getting a little concerned."

"Really? Yeah, um, everything's fine," she said absently, cursing internally as she realized that the feeling was gone, he'd slipped back into the crowd.

"Can you get back to the hotel?" he asked. "Hammond finally sent us the information."

"Yes, sir," she said, hanging up the phone. He wasn't the only one with a story to tell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're saying you sensed him?" Daniel asked as his friend sat down cross-legged on the bed. They'd booked a room in one of the small motels not for a place to sleep, but to have somewhere private to discuss things.

"Unless there's another goa'uld running around Las Vegas, yes," she confirmed.

"Maybe there's some truth to those rumors about Wayne Newton," Jack quipped, claiming one of the chairs. "The bad news is, Carter's spider-sense might be all we have to go on."

"Is the satellite image not performing to expected levels?" Teal'c asked.

"Depends on what we expected. It picked up a naquadah signature in South Las Vegas, but it's not more specific than that."

"So, no exact location?" Sam asked.

"No," Jack confirmed. "Where were you when you picked him up?"

"Outside the Mirage."

"That's South Las Vegas," Daniel said.

"Perhaps he is attempting to gain access to the airport?" Teal'c suggested.

"They've been put on alert," Jack said. "Same with the bus and train depots."

"What's our plan, sir?" Sam asked.

"Well, we can hang around and wait for any word of a man with glowing eyes." Daniel shot Jack a glare. "Yeah. I think the best thing we can do right now is to canvas the hotels, see if their security guys can help us out."

"There are thousands of tourists out there, Jack. It'll be like a needle in a hay stack."

"A needle in many haystacks, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c corrected.

"Well, we know that as of an hour ago, he was still in town," Jack said, nodding towards Sam. "I think the best thing is for us to pound the pavement. If Carter sensed him, chances are he picked up on her too. We gotta get him before he tries something radical.

We'll go casino by casino, starting at the Mirage. Daniel and I will check in with security. Carter, you and Teal'c do a walk through, see if you can get a bead on him."

"Yes, sir," Sam agreed, as Teal'c nodded.

"What about Eric?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know what kind of information he has," Sam said. "He thinks he's tracking down a deserter."

"Will he get in our way?" Jack asked.

Sam paused for a second. "Yeah," she said. "Sir, the only thing I could tell him that might convince him to stop, is the one thing I can't tell him. He's having a hard enough time buying that a lecturer at the Academy is searching for an AWOL officer."

"Lecturer?" Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows at her flimsy cover story.

Sam shrugged. "It was a good idea at the time."

"OK," Jack said, the expression on his face telling them that while he wasn't too fond of how things were playing out, he also recognized that there wasn't too much he could do about it. "Las Vegas is a big city. Let's just hope he stays out of our way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c walked beside Sam, his eyes scanning the teeming crowd. It was early evening in the casino and the crowd was growing by the minute as more and more of the local work force sought the gambling establishments for entertainment. He knew that the crowd would likely continue to increase throughout the evening, something that would make their task even harder.

It was moments like this when he deeply regretted the loss of his symbiote. Without its presence, he was unable to sense the proximity of another goa'uld, leaving that burden resting solely on Major Carter's shoulders.

He could see that she was trying. There was a slight frown between her brows as she struggled to push herself, to force her ability to its very limits.  "I'm starting to think this is a bad idea," she said, pausing beside a large bank of gambling machines. "If I sensed him, he had to have picked up on me. If he was smart, he high-tailed it out of town."

"If he was wise, he would never have allowed himself to be seen," Teal'c said. A flash of movement caught his eyes and he turned, watching as an inebriated female lost her balance and stumbled. She caught herself on a stool, then took a moment to regain her equilibrium. A handful of coins spilled out of the large cup she was carrying and skittered across the carpet. "Perhaps he sought something different," Teal'c said, drawing Sam's attention to the woman. She staggered off, oblivious to the fact that a few bystanders were happily collecting her discarded winnings.

"An easy mark?" Sam asked. "Maybe. But with as many tourists that are around here, he's got no shortage of a new host. All he needs to do is borrow someone's identity and hop on a plane."

"I do not believe a new host is his goal," Teal'c said softly. "He could have attained that any time in the past three years."

"Good point," she agreed. "Let's make one more pass before we meet back up with the colonel and Daniel." She continued making her way through the casino and he followed, ignoring the raucous jangle of the machines that seemed to mock the seriousness of their search.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zadok walked through the groups of revelers jointly disgusted and amazed at what he was seeing. These were the Tau'ri? This was the home world that his kind only spoke of in myth and legend?

These people were no threat,  he thought, staring at the teeming mass of gaudily clad men, women and children. They wouldn't be good workers, most of them looked too soft to do any sort of manual labor.

He had been many places on the planet and this was by far the most frivolous. The desolation of Russia and many of the places he'd been had been during his internment here had been expected. It spoke of a wealth of resources and a lack of people, making it easier to subjugate the planet.

He felt his disgust grow as he walked, striving to pull any helpful information from his host's mind. During the past few hours, his host had continued to retreat, his mind withdrawing into childhood memories.

It was from those memories that Zadok sought to glean further information about the gods his host spoke of. He could see fragments of images of smiling figures and echoing voices. There was a court here, a place where the gods lived and held audiences for their worshippers. A court of high colonnades and elegant fixtures. A place of echoing grandeur and stately elegance.

He would seek assistance from these gods, if he could find them. His host's memories were fragmented and faded, like trying to read a shattered tablet or a broken crystal. He had not been to this town in many years and his recollection was quite different than what he was seeing now. Buildings were gone or had changed, others seemed to have moved, something Zadok blamed on the extreme passage of time, the human mind being nowhere near as refined as his own.

He walked past a mock volcano and stopped, his eyes fixated on the vision before him. He ignored the irritated words and outbursts from the people around him. 'Is that it?' Receiving no response from his host, he prodded him. 'Is that it!' he demanded. Feeling an affirmative response from Bert, Zadok started walking again, his eyes taking in the grandeur of his surroundings, the pristine white statues among the manicured greenery and glistening fountains.

It was an oasis of peace and dignity in the tawdry bustle of the rest of the city. This was a place for a god to live.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eric walked down the Strip, his stomach full from a trip through one of the town's many buffets. This whole trip was a waste. Yes, he'd gotten a bead on Samuels, yes, he had confirmation that the man was back in the states and evidentially interested in the Air Force again. But beyond that, unless he did something to draw attention to himself again, the ex-Lieutenant Colonel was gone, vanished into the anonymity of the human population.

It was time for him to check in with the local PD one last time then go home. Oddly enough, he felt none of his normal eagerness at the idea. He didn't want to go home, not when his usual reason for going home was right here in Las Vegas.

What was she doing here? And who exactly were her friends? They sure didn't look like any teachers he'd ever seen. Well, maybe the one man, but not the colonel  and definitely not the black guy. Those two looked more like body guards or bouncers than teachers.

They were looking for Samuels, it had to be. That was the only reasonable explanation for them being in Las Vegas, and the easy with which they'd gotten in to see General Martinson.

Which suggested to him that she was something far more than just a lecturer. She'd lied to him, from the very beginning most if not all, of what she'd told him had been a lie. Or maybe not. What if she was like him? Not a mercenary, but…classified. That's what she'd tossed up in his face when he'd tried to talk to her. Her life was classified. And Whitlow had his fingers in more classified pies than Eric could count. Maybe it was about time to call in a couple of markers.

He reached for his cell phone, his hand stopping mid action as his eyes caught sight of a figure making its way up the wide walk leading to Caesar's Palace. Son of a bitch.

Not quite sure if he was seeing things, he stared for a second, then reached for his pocket, pulling out the folded picture Martinson had given him. His eyes darted back and forth, comparing the two images. It was him.

Filled with eagerness at having his quarry within his grasp, he quickly looked both ways and jay-walked across the street, jogging up the walk to keep the man in sight, careful not to get too close and spook him.

So intent was he upon his goal that he failed to notice the people who recognized and followed him into the casino.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam followed the rest of her team into the casino, jogging slightly to keep Eric in sight. "I'm gonna go let security in on what's going down," Jack said. "Carter, Teal'c, keep him in sight. Let's try not to make a scene. Daniel, you're with me."

The two men split off and Sam and Teal'c continued on their way, struggling to navigate through the crowds of oblivious people while not drawing too much attention to themselves. "We've got to get him away from these people," Sam said. "The last thing we need is civilian casualties."

"Agreed," Teal'c said.

Much to their relief, Samuels seemed to want to avoid the crowds as much as they wanted him to. He made a bee line through the casino and into the Forum shopping center that was attached to the casino.

The mall was slightly less busy than the casino, and definitely quieter, the clang of the slot machines was replaced by the muttering of elevator music and the chatter of the ambling shoppers.

Afraid to lose sight of them, Sam picked up the pace, only slowing when Teal'c put a restraining hand on her arm. "You must maintain your distance, Major Carter or your presence will alert Lieutenant Colonel Samuels that we are surveying him."

Acknowledging the wisdom of his words, she slowed, craning her neck to keep sight of Eric's plaid shirt. Samuels was walking forward, totally ignoring the crowds around him, reminding her of a man on drugs, suffering from a tunnel vision that blinded him to all but his goals.

A shrill alarm cut through the air and Sam looked to Teal'c as a calm voice began to announce the evacuation of the shopping center. "It's gotta be the colonel," she said, ignoring the instructions and instead moving with her friend as they closed ranks around the fugitive. The other shoppers were filing out of the mall, their own panic and fear blinding them to the quartet that were ignoring the instructions from the loud speaker.

Samuels was standing in front of one of the large fountains, staring up at the animatronics statues. She could see Eric moving closer, his hand going to the small of his back as he drew a pistol. Drawing her own gun, she crept closer, the absence of a crowd hampering her own attempt at stealth.

Samuels turned, a look of utter desperation on his face. Eric drew his gun and she heard him challenge Samuels. Almost in slow motion, she saw Samuels raise his hand, an unseen ribbon device glinting dully in the muted light of the mall. "No!" she yelled as Samuels fired his weapon, throwing Eric across the mall. He crashed into a heavy bench and slumped to the marble floor.

Enraged, she aimed and fired, one shot striking Samuels as Teal'c tackled him from the side, both men crashing to the ground. She heard running footsteps and saw the colonel and Daniel out of the corner of her eye, both running forward. Trusting them to cover Teal'c, she lowered her gun and rushed forward, kneeling at Eric's side.

He was unconscious, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Her fingers fumbled for his pulse, relaxing a bit when she found it faint but steady.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing Teal'c and the colonel take off at a run, chasing Samuels as the goa'uld broke free with an unearthly roar. She started to get up, then stopped as she felt Eric stir. Daniel stared after his two teammates, then turned and made his way back to her. "Sam? Is he ok?"

"I think he's just unconscious," she said, eyeing the two security guards that were headed her way. She reached down and picked up Eric's gun, slipping it to Daniel. "We need some medical assistance here!" she called out, secreting her own weapon away. One of the approaching guards acknowledged him and reached for his radio.

"Should we go help Jack and Teal'c?" Daniel asked.

Sam shook her head. "There's no way we'll catch up to them now. We need to know what he saw," she said softly, stepping back so the paramedics could get to Eric.

"Are you going to follow him to the hospital?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"I'll go with you," he offered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zadok ran through the cavernous halls of the structure, pushing his host's body to it's very limit and beyond. Fool. He was such a fool. Damn his host. Damn his faulty Tau'ri memory. He should have known better, should have known that there was no way a god would go unnoticed, even on this primitive planet.

The heavy footsteps of the Jaffa pounded behind him and he tried to run faster, tried to escape. No. They couldn't do this. He couldn't let them catch him. They'd take him away, lock him up. Lock him up in a cage. No. Not when he was so close. So close to going home. That's all he wanted, to go home. To take his rightful place among his brethren, to travel among the stars, to rule, to live.

The red letters of a sign beckoned him and he ran faster, spurred on by his desperation. Exit, outside. He had to get outside. Outside was freedom, he needed to get free. So close, he could see it so close. Just a little bit more. All he needed was to run a little faster, stay ahead for just a few more seconds. Then he could be free. He needed to stay free. Freedom was life, he had to stay alive.

A heavy weight slammed into him, pushing him to the ground with a bruising force. Trapped inside a non-responsive body, he screamed, fear, desperation, terror overwhelming him, crippling him. Trapped in a morass of inaction, he could do nothing but be a silent witness to his own condemnation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack walked into the hospital, following Daniel's instructions by memory. All in all, they'd been lucky. Martinson may have had problems with the locals, but, so far, Jack hadn't. Of course, Martinson also didn't quite have the red phone connections that Hammond had either.

Jack still wasn't quite sure if the security people from the casino bought the story he'd spun, but they were smart enough not to question too much, so it appeared that he didn't have to worry about a security leak from the casino's end.

Now all he needed to do was find out about Carter's friend. So far, Hammond hadn't been able to dig up too much on the man, the commonness of his name not helping the search. He really wanted the whole thing to be some sort of coincidence. Maybe the guy was legit and was just a bounty hunter or something like that. For Carter's sake, he hoped so.

After asking a couple of nurses for directions, he found Carter and Daniel in the waiting room outside of the emergency department. "Sir," she said, moving to get to her feet.

Jack waved her back down. "You two ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Daniel said. "Samuels?"

"Teal'c's got him. We're taking him back to Area 51. How's your friend?" he asked Sam.

"I don't know. They won't tell us anything," she said.

"It's dumb luck he wasn't killed," Daniel said.

"How much do you think he saw?" Jack asked softly after looking around to make sure no one was within ear shot. Fortunately the waiting room was mostly deserted, despite it being relatively late on a Friday night.

"Samuels threw him across the room with a hand device," Daniel said. "So he saw at least that much."

"Or thinks he saw," Jack said. "He hit his head, who knows if his memories are accurate."

"General Hammond needs to know what he knows, doesn't he?" Sam asked, her voice resigned.

"Yeah," Jack said, deciding not to tell her that Hammond was also digging into the man's past. If everything turned up clean, there was no need to tell her what they were doing. If not…then he'd deal with it later. No need to add insult to injury.

"They won't let me in to see him," Sam said. "Family only."

The large double door opened and Jack looked in, seeing the topic of their discussion standing beside a doctor at a large counter. "Looks like someone needs a ride," he said, nodding towards the doors. He got to his feet, pulling the keys to the car out of his pocket. He tossed them towards Sam who caught them reflexively. "Car's in the garage, level 4. Daniel and I will catch a cab."

"We will?"

"Take your time," Jack said, ignoring Daniel. "Plane's not leaving until 0900." She shoved the small ring of keys into her pocket and walked away, making a bee line towards Eric and the doctor.

"He's not gonna get to keep Samuels, is he?" Daniel  asked.

Jack shook his head. "No."

"I don't think he's going to take that very well."

"He won't." Jack started walking, leading Daniel out of the waiting room and towards the outside door.

"Whoever's paying him isn't going to take it very well either."

"We're sorta counting on that," Jack said cryptically, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Daniel listened as he called Area 51 and summoned another staff car to replace the one he'd just loaned to Sam. He hung up his phone and found a bench, sitting down with a sigh.

"I thought we were getting a cab?"

"I'm not paying for the ride out to Nellis."

"Why are we going to Nellis?"

"Teal'c is there. He delivered Samuels. We gotta go get him then we can go back to the hotel."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eric followed the doctor out of the exam room, groaning softly as bruised and abused muscles made their presence known. He was definitely getting too old for this crap. And to make matters worse, he didn't even get Samuels.

He heard heels clicking on the tile floor and looked over, frowning when he saw Sam walking towards him. He rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to turn and walk away from her. Of course, if he didn't hang around and fill out the forms the ER doc was getting out for him, he could end up stuck here for lord only knew how long.

"If  you experience any of the symptoms on this list, you should come back," the doctor said, handing him a sheet of paper.

"Yeah," Eric said, taking it and shoving it into his pocket. This certainly wasn't the first concussion he'd ever had.

"You shouldn't drive either," the doctor warned. "I can have the nurse call you a cab."

"I can give him a ride," Sam said, coming to stand by his side.

The doctor frowned, then shrugged, obviously happy to be handing over responsibility for his patient. "Give these to the nurse and you're free to go," he said, giving Eric one last piece of paper. 

He took it and shot Sam a look, deliberately not talking to her as he followed the doctor's instructions, making his way to the nurse. He finished the paperwork and signed himself out, still pretending that Sam wasn't standing at his side.

"The car's this way," she said, shepherding him towards the parking garage.

"My hotel's just a few blocks away."

"Then it won't take us long to get there," she said, refusing to accept his excuses. He gave in, following her as she made her way to the parking garage and found the Air Force issued car.

"Where is he?" he asked as she got into the car and stuck the key in the ignition.

"Who?"

"No more games," he requested. "Where's Samuels?"

"In custody," she answered, putting the car into gear and backing out of the space.

"Whose custody?"

"The United State's Air Force."

He snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I'm not lying," she said.

Eric sighed, squinting as they drove out of the garage, the bright neons of the Strip setting off the lingering headache he'd had since waking up fully in the ambulance. "What do you really do?" he asked her.

"I really do lecture," she said. "But not all the time," she said, glancing at him. "I work in Cheyenne Mountain. Analysis of Deep Space Radar Telemetry."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Lecturer sounds better?" she suggested.

"What do you want with Samuels?"

"He used to be stationed at Cheyenne Mountain. That's why we were trying to catch him, he was one of our own."

He stared at her, trying to see if he could determine if she was telling the truth this time. Samuels had been at Cheyenne Mountain, that much he knew, but that had been years ago. If she'd served with him…or maybe it was the Colonel who'd served with him and she was just helping out a friend.

"So, you aah, you remember anything?" she asked, glancing at him again as she navigated the heavy traffic.

"About?"

"Before you got knocked out," she reminded.

"Oh," he said.

"HOLD IT!" he yelled, pulling his weapon. He saw Samuels  turn, the man's eyes narrowing, almost seeming to glow.  "Don't move. There's nowhere to go."

_"Hataka," Samuels growled, his voice resonating oddly. He raised his left hand and Eric's finger tensed on the trigger, relaxing a bit when he didn't see the telltale ebony glint of a weapon. "I will not be a prisoner," he said as his palm glowed. A heavy force slammed into his chest as two gunshots echoed sharply off the marble walls. He saw Samuels stagger as he landed with a sickening crack and felt the world go black around the edges as he struggled to breathe. _

_He heard footsteps and voices as he felt cool fingers at his throat. "Sam? Is he ok?"_

_"I think he's just unconscious," he heard Sam say. What was she doing here? And where was Samuels? "We need some medical assistance here!" she called out, the noise making him cringe. _

_"Should we go help Jack and Teal'c?" a man asked, he had to be one of her friends. _

_"There's no way we'll catch up to them now. We need to know what he saw," she said softly, as he felt her move away from him, her presence replaced by the impersonal touches of paramedics. _

She needed to know what he saw. What had he seen? What did Samuels have in his hand? That was no normal weapon, it was like nothing he'd ever seen before. And his voice…something about his voice chilled him to the bone. It was…almost other worldly like something out of a horror movie. "I don't remember a thing," he said, schooling his face as he looked her in the eyes.

"Really?"

He shrugged. "I thought I'd been shot at first. I have no idea what happened. One minute I was yelling for Samuels to stop, the next I was waking up in the ambulance," he lied, watching her face as she processed his words.

"That's gotta be spooky," she said.

He shrugged. "Doesn't sound like I missed much."

"What?"

"You guys caught Samuels, cleared it with casino security I'm assuming. What more is there to have seen?"

"Right, nothing more to have seen. Pretty boring actually. You've seen one arrest, you've seen them all," she said, her voice artificially bright as they pulled up outside his hotel.

"I may need to sic my CO on your CO," he said, reaching for the door handle.

"Huh?" She shot him a startled look.

"My orders were to bust Samuels, I can't do that now. Your boss may need to tell my boss why I can't do that."

"Yeah, right. I can, I can do that. Umm, just let me know who your CO is and I'll have him call him. That's no problem. It's not your fault about what happened."

"I'll call you," he said, getting out of the car and stepping away.

He heard her put the car into park and her door open. "Eric?" He turned back. "Do you want me to come up? I mean you probably shouldn't be alone or…."

"I'm fine," he said, wanting anything but to be alone with her any longer. It'd be easier for both of them. She wouldn't have to keep making up stories, and he wouldn't have to keep pretending to believe them. "I'll call you when I get back to Colorado," he dismissed, turning his back and walking into the hotel.

Fighting the urge to turn back and see if she'd left yet, he kept walking, pushing the elevator button with far more force than was necessary. Maybe it was a good thing that they'd gotten Samuels in custody. He wouldn't have the distraction now that he had a new mystery to solve.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam tiredly trudged up her walk, a combination of a trying couple of days and jet lag making her feel like she'd just finished a ten mile hike, with a full pack. As it turned out, the colonel had been wrong, they hadn't returned to Colorado the next morning like he'd thought. Instead General Hammond had wanted Colonel O'Neill to perform the preliminary interrogation on Samuels and determine exactly how badly the SGC had been compromised, obviously either not trusting General Martinson to do it, or afraid that once the ex-Lieutenant Colonel vanished into the shadows of the NID, he'd never be seen again.

For some strange reason, General Martinson didn't take too kindly to them hanging around, seeming to resent the implication that the security of his base was found to be lacking and that he wasn't trusted to conduct the interrogation himself.

After six rather tense and uncomfortable hours, she'd been ready to hijack the plane herself just to get away from it all.

The colonel had finally been satisified, sharing with them on the plane that Samuels was 'fruitier than a nutcake' and that his goa'uld, Zadok, wasn't much better. Five hours, one turbulent flight and one debriefing later, she was finally home, nearly twenty-four hours after the showdown at the Forum. And nearly twenty-four hours since she'd heard from Eric.

She'd tried to call him this morning before they'd headed out to Nellis to question Samuels, but had discovered that he'd checked out of his hotel and he wasn't answering his cell phone either. She'd left him a voice mail and thought she'd been playing it cool, until Daniel noticed her checking her own voice mail every hour on the hour hoping for some message.

Maybe she should have run by his apartment on her way home, made sure that he'd made it home ok and that he was feeling  ok. He had taken a hard knock on the head last night. Or maybe not. What kind of reception would she face? The way he'd acted in Vegas, she half expected to never hear from him again.

Her eyes caught sight of a small box on her stoop and she walked up the steps, bending over to pick it up. She gathered her mail and unlocked the door, automatically turning on the hall light.

Dismissing most of the mail as junk or bills, she made her way into the living room, sitting down on the couch. She opened the box, pulling aside a small pad of cotton to reveal a familiar round shape. She picked up the golden coin and held it in her hand, running her fingers over its smooth surface as she remembered the first time she'd seen it.

_He laughed and walked in the other direction, stopping and kneeling down. "Well, whatta ya know?" Eric said, picking something up and brushing the dust off of it._

_"What have you got?" she asked, moving towards him._

_"Old Spanish coin," he said, tossing it to her. "Worth a pretty penny if that's what I think it is."_

_She studied the coin, trying to decipher the faded writing. "It's gold," she said. "I have no idea how old it is, but I have a friend that might know." She tossed it back to him. "He's no archaeologist, but one hell of a quick study. And persistent. He'll wear the internet out until he finds out who that is."_

_Eric tossed it back to her. "Ask him them."_

_She caught it, looking down at the glittering coin in her hand. "This is yours."_

_He moved towards her, standing just a couple of feet away. "If you have it, then I have a good excuse to call you," he said softly._

Smiling slightly, she set the coin back into its box and got up from the sofa. Suddenly a little less tired, she made her way back to the bathroom, a tub of steaming water beckoning her forward.

Fin


End file.
